the most rewarding for planetary science. Furthermore, such missions carry a great deal of public outreach potential, which is an important attribute for space exploration when it comes to public support. The only successful robotic sample-return missions of this type have been the Soviet Luna landers and Chinese Chang'e 5. List of missions Colour key: Crewed missions Robotic missions See also Asteroid mining Exploration of Mars Exploration of the Moon Extraterrestrial sample curation List of lunar probes Robotic exploration of the Moon Timeline of Solar System exploration Notes References External links Mars Exploration: Sample Returns Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Exploration Program on sample return missions. Stardust Homepage Jet Propulsion Laboratory Stardust mission website. Genesis Mission Homepage Jet Propulsion Laboratory Genesis mission website. Stardust: Aerogel Stardust website on aerogel technology. JAXA Hayabusa JAXA Hayabusa project update. MarsNews.com: Mars Sample Return MarsNews.com on Mars Sample Return missions. Texas Space Grant Consortium: Missions to the Moon A list of missions to the Moon from 1958 to 1998. Evaluating the Biological Potential in Samples Returned from Planetary Satellites and Small Solar System Bodies The National Academies, Space Science Board 1998 Discovery and exploration of the Solar System Space hazards Spaceflight Spaceflight timelines