SMART-1 was ESA’s first Moon mission, launched in September 2003. It was also the first of ESA’s Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology.  It travelled to the Moon using solar-electric propulsion and carrying a battery of miniaturised instruments. As well as testing new technology, SMART-1 conducted the first comprehensive inventory of key chemical elements on the lunar surface

SMART-1 arrived in lunar orbit on 15 November 2004. After completing its lunar science operations, its mission ended through lunar impact on 3 September 2006.

SOHO, the solar and Heliospheric Observatory, was launched on Atlas-2AS rocket from Cape Canaveral in December 1995. It is a joint ESA-NASA project, studying the Sun, from its deep core, through its outer atmosphere and the solar wind, into the heliosphere, and has revolutionised our understanding of the Sun.

SOHO was meant to operate until 1998, but it was so successful that ESA and NASA decided to prolong its life several times and endorsed several mission extensions. It celebrated its 25th launch anniversary in 2020 and its mission is ongoing.

Spacelab was an integral part of NASA’s Space Shuttle Programme (also known as the Space Transportation System or STS) and its principal scientific manned module. It was the first European manned space project. Its maiden mission in 1983 included the first European astronaut, Ulf Merbold and it flew 21 subsequent missions until 1998, making important contributions to astronomy, life sciences, atmospheric physics, Earth observation and materials science. Spacelab was funded, designed and built by ESRO/ESA as a modular, general purpose laboratory, after Europe was invited to take part in NASA’s post-Apollo programme.

Space Transportation System (STS) was the official name of NASA’s space shuttle program. It operated from 1981 to 2011 with a total of 135 missions, docking with the Russian Mir space station 9 times and the ISS 37 times, and carrying 355 astronauts from 16 countries.

See the full list of STS missions on the ESA website.