Deep space exploration aims at the exploration of planets,moons,asteroids,comets and space environment in the universe other than the Earth.It is an important task to properly select scientific instruments for deep space exploration,which enable human to figure out the physical and chemical environment,topography,dynamic characteristics and the existence of organic matter and water.It is of great significance for mankind to explore the existence of extraterrestrial water and life,as well as the origin and evolution of the solar system.This paper summarizes the scientific objectives of the deep space exploration,then introduces the scientific instruments and their characteristics for typical deep space exploration missions in recent 50 years,including mass spectrometer,spectrometer,ground penetrating radar and magnetometer,and sorts out their performance parameters,the exploration oriented missions and tasks of the instruments.Finally,this paper discusses the development trend of scientific instruments for deep space exploration,such as miniaturization,low power consumption,stronger environmental adaptability and the combination of multiple instruments.