{"dataset":{"slug":"mission-phases","title":"Mission Phases","description":"The generic lifecycle stages of a small-body mission, from launch and cruise to return and reentry.","version":"1.0.0","lastGenerated":"2026-06-29","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","entityCount":5,"sources":["nasa","esa"]},"entities":[{"id":"mission_phase:approach-and-characterization","name":"Approach & Characterization","type":"mission_phase","domain":"science","description":"The final approach, when the target grows from a point of light into a resolved world and the spacecraft measures its shape, spin, and gravity to plan operations.","entryPath":""},{"id":"mission_phase:launch-and-cruise","name":"Launch & Cruise","type":"mission_phase","domain":"science","description":"The launch and the long interplanetary cruise to the target, often using gravity assists or ion propulsion to reach a distant small body.","entryPath":""},{"id":"mission_phase:proximity-operations","name":"Proximity Operations","type":"mission_phase","domain":"science","description":"Extended operations close to the body — global mapping, orbiting, and selecting sites for a landing, sampling, or impact.","entryPath":""},{"id":"mission_phase:return-and-reentry","name":"Return & Reentry","type":"mission_phase","domain":"science","description":"For sample-return missions, the journey home and the high-speed atmospheric reentry of the capsule to a recovery site — the phase that delivers the science to Earth.","entryPath":""},{"id":"mission_phase:surface-operations","name":"Surface Operations & Sampling","type":"mission_phase","domain":"science","description":"The critical interaction with the surface — a touchdown, a landing, a sample-collection manoeuvre, or a deliberate impact.","entryPath":""}]}