November 7, 1996 - Mars Global Surveyor - USA Mars Orbiter
Mars Global Surveyor was inserted into an elliptical capture orbit on 12 September 1997. The spacecraft was initiated due to the loss of the Mars Observer and the basic design is after the Mars Observer. Mars Global Surveyor is designed to orbit Mars over a two year period and collect data on the surface morphology, topography, composition, gravity, atmospheric dynamics, and magnetic field. This data will be used to investigate the surface processes, geology, distribution of material, internal properties, evolution of the magnetic field, and the weather and climate of Mars.

November 16, 1996 - Mars 96 - Russia Orbiter & Lander Mars '96 consisted of an orbiter, two landers, and two soil penetrators that were to reach the planet in September 1997. The rocket carring Mars 96 lifted off successfully, but as it entered orbit the rocket's fourth stage ignited prematurely and sent the probe into a wild tumble. It crashed into the ocean somewhere between the Chilean coast and Easter Island. The spacecraft sank, carrying with it 270 grams of plutonium-238.

December 4, 1996 - September 27, 1997 - Mars Pathfinder - USA Lander & Surface Rover - 264 kg (lander), 10.5 kg ( Sojourner rover)
Mars Pathfinder arrived at Mars on July 4, 1997 and impacted the surface at 16:57 UT (12:57 PM EDT) at a velocity of about 18 m/s (40 mph). It bounced about 15 meters (50 feet) into the air, bouncing another 15 times and rolling before coming to rest approximately 2.5 minutes after impact and about 1 km from the initial impact site. The landing site was in the Ares Vallis region is at 19.33 N, 33.55 W and was named the Sagan Memorial Station. A six-wheel rover, named Sojourner, rolled onto the Martian surface on July 6 at about 05:40 UT. Mars Pathfinder returned 2.6 billion bits of information, including more than 16,000 images from the lander and 550 images from the rover, as well as more than 15 chemical analyses of rocks and extensive data on winds and other weather factors. The last successful data transmission was on September 27, 1997, the 83rd day of the mission since landing on the surface. This is the second mission in NASA's low-cost Discovery series.

1997 - Cassini/Huygens - USA & Europe Saturn Orbiter/Titan Probe
The aim of the joint ESA/NASA Cassini mission will be the exploration of the whole Saturnian system - the planet itself, its atmosphere, rings and magnetosphere, and some of its moons ( Titan and the icy satellites). Titan is especially interesting because its atmosphere is supposed to have properties very close to those of the terrestrial atmosphere in pre-biotic conditions. The Cassini mission will consist of the NASA-provided Saturn Orbiter coupled with ESA's Huygens probe, which will be dropped into Titan's atmosphere. During the three hours of its descent to the surface of Titan, and after touchdown, Huygens will study the characteristics of Titan's atmosphere and surface.

January 6, 1998 - Lunar Prospector - 295 kg - USA Lunar Orbiter
Lunar Prospector was launched on January 6, 1998 and arrived at the Moon on January 11, 1998. It is designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including the mapping of surface composition and possible ice deposits, the measuring of magnetic and gravity fields, and the study of lunar outgassing events. This data could help scientists plan a potential lunar base and develop theories of the formation of the Moon, Earth and Solar System. Its mission is scheduled to last one to three years.

3 July 1998 - Nozomi (Planet B) - Japan Mars Orbiter
Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) launched this probe to study the Martian environment. This will be the first Japanese spacecraft to reach another planet. The spacecraft will encounter Mars in December of 2003.

24 October 1998 - Deep Space 1 (DS1) - USA Asteroid and Comet Flyby
The Deep Space 1 (DS1) is the first of a series of technology demonstration probes being developed by NASA's New Millennium Program. The spacecraft flew by the Mars-crossing near-Earth asteroid 9969 Braille in July, 1999 and will fly by comet Borrelly in September 2001.

11 December 1998 - Mars Climate Orbiter - USA Mars Orbiter
The Mars Climate Orbiter, also known as the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter, was a companion to the Mars Polar Lander. Its the mission was to study the Martian weather, climate, and water and carbon dioxide budget. It was destroyed when a navigation error caused it to miss its target altitude at Mars by 80 to 90 kilometers, instead of entering the martian atmosphere at an altitude of 57 kilometers during the orbit insertion maneuver.

3 January 1999 - Mars Polar Lander - USA Mars Lander
The Mars Polar Lander, also known as the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander, was a companion to the Mars Climate Orbiter. It was to touch down on the southern polar layered terrain, between 73 S and 76 S, less than 1000 km from the south pole, near the edge of the carbon dioxide ice cap in Mars' late southern spring. The last telemetry from the spacecraft was sent just prior to atmospheric entry on 3 December 1999. No further signals have been received from the lander, the cause of this loss of communication is not known.

3 January 1999 - Deep Space 2 (DS2) - USA Mars Penetrators

The Deep Space 2 (DS2) project is a New Millenium mission consisting of two probes which were to penetrate the surface of Mars near the south polar layered terrain and send back data on the sub-surface properties. On 3 December 1999 the probes were nearing Mars on a trajectory to enter the atmosphere and bring them to their intended landing site, but contact was never made with either probe and the mission was presumed lost.

7 February 1999 - Stardust - USA Comet Sample Return
Stardust is scheduled to rendezvous with comet P/Wild 2 in January 2004, study the object, and collect material for analysis on Earth. The return capsule is scheduled to arrive back on Earth in January 2006.

25 March 2000 - IMAGE - USA Space Weather Satellite
IMAGE is the first weather satellite for space storms. It is designed to study the global response of the Earth's magnetosphere to changes in the solar wind.