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Mariner 3 1st Attempted Mars Flyby
Mariner 3 was a 260 kg solar-cell and battery-powered spacecraft designed to make scientific measurements in the vicinity of Mars and to obtain photographs of the planet's surface and transmit these to Earth. It was intended that the spacecraft would encounter Mars after a 325-million mile journey in a little less than 8 months. A protective shield failed to eject after the spacecraft had passed through the atmosphere. None of the instrument sensors were uncovered, and the added weight prevented -
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Mars Timeline
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Mariner 4 2nd Attempt Mars Flyby
Mariner 4 was the fourth in a series of spacecraft used for planetary exploration in a flyby mode and represented the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the martian surface. These represented the first images of another planet ever returned from deep space. Mariner 4 was designed to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and to transmit these observations to Earth. Other mission objectives were to perform field and particle -
Mariner 6 - 3rd Mars Flyby
Mariner 6 and 7 comprised a dual-spacecraft mission to Mars, the sixth and seventh missions in the Mariner series of spacecraft used for planetary exploration in the flyby mode. The primary objectives of the missions were to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars during close flybys to establish the basis for future investigations, particularly those relevant to the search for extraterrestrial life, and to demonstrate and develop technologies required for future Mars missions and other long-du -
Mariner 7 - Mars Flyby
See Mariner 6 for information -
Mariner 8 Attempted Mars Flyby (Launch Failure)
It was intended to go into Mars orbit and return images and data. Mariner 8 was launched on an Atlas-Centaur SLV-3C booster (AC-24). The main Centaur engine was ignited 265 seconds after launch, but the upper stage began to oscillate in pitch and tumbled out of control. The Centaur stage shut down 365 seconds after launch due to starvation caused by the tumbling. The Centaur and spacecraft payload separated and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere approximately 1500 km downrange and fell into the -
Mariner 9 Mars Orbiter
The Mariner Mars 71 mission was planned to consist of two spacecraft to orbit Mars on complementary missions, but due to the failure of Mariner 8 to launch properly, only one spacecraft was available. Mariner 9 combined mission objectives of both Mariner 8 (mapping 70 % of the Martian surface) and Mariner 9 (a study of temporal changes in the Martian atmosphere and on the Martian surface). For the survey portion of the mission, the planetary surface was to be mapped with the same resolution as p -
Viking 1 Mars Orbiter and Lander
The Viking project consisted of launches of two separate spacecraft to Mars, Viking 1, launched on 20 August 1975, and Viking 2, launched on 9 September 1975. Each spacecraft consisted of an orbiter and a lander. After orbiting Mars and returning images used for landing site selection, the orbiter and lander detached and the lander entered the martian atmosphere and soft-landed at the selected site. The orbiters continued imaging and other scientific operations from orbit while the landers deplo -
Viking 2 Mars Orbiter and Lander
See Viking 1 for information -
Mars Observer - Attempted Mars Orbiter (Contact Lost)
Mars Observer, the first of the Observer series of planetary missions, was designed to study the geoscience and climate of Mars. The primary science objectives for the mission were to: (1) determine the global elemental and mineralogical character of the surface material; (2) define globally the topography and gravitational field; (3) establish the nature of the Martian magnetic field; (4) determine the temporal and spatial distribution, abundance, sources, and sinks of volatiles and dust over a -
Mars Global Surveyor - Mars Orbiter
The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission is designed as a rapid, low-cost recovery of the Mars Observer mission objectives. The science objectives involve high resolution imaging of the surface, studies of the topography and gravity, the role of water and dust on the surface and in the atmosphere of Mars, the weather and climate of Mars, the composition of the surface and atmosphere, and the existence and evolution of the Martian magnetic field. The spacecraft began its Mars orbit insertion burn -
Mars Pathfinder - Mars Lander and Rover
The Mars Pathfinder (formerly known as the Mars Environmental Survey, or MESUR, Pathfinder) is the second of NASA's low-cost planetary Discovery missions. The mission consists of a stationary lander and a surface rover. The mission has the primary objective of demonstrating the feasibility of low-cost landings on and exploration of the Martian surface. This objective will be met by tests of communications between the rover and lander, and the lander and Earth, and tests of the imaging devices an -
Mars Climate Orbiter - Attempted Mars Orbiter
The Mars Surveyor '98 program is comprised of two spacecraft launched separately, the Mars Climate Orbiter (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter) and the Mars Polar Lander (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander). The two missions were to study the Martian weather, climate, and water and carbon dioxide budget, in order to understand the reservoirs, behavior, and atmospheric role of volatiles and to search for evidence of long-term and episodic climate changes. The Mars Climate Orbiter was destr -
Mars Polar Lander - 3 January 1999 - Attempted Mars Lander
The Mars Surveyor '98 program is comprised of two spacecraft launched separately, the Mars Climate Orbiter (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter) and the Mars Polar Lander (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander). The two missions were designed to study the Martian weather, climate, and water and carbon dioxide budget, in order to understand the reservoirs, behavior, and atmospheric role of volatiles and to search for evidence of long-term and episodic climate changes. The last telemetry from M -
Deep Space 2 (DS2) - Attempted 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. Also named the Mars Microprobe Project, the probe mission had as scient -
2001 Mars Odyssey - Mars Orbiter
The 2001 Mars Odyssey is the remaining part of the Mars Surveyor 2001 Project, which originally consisted of two separately launched missions, The Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter and the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander. The lander spacecraft was cancelled as part of the reorganization of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA. The orbiter, renamed the 2001 Mars Odyssey, will nominally orbit Mars for three years, with the objective of conducting a detailed mineralogical analysis of the planet's surface from o -
Spirit (MER-A) - 10 June 2003 - Mars Rover
The "Spirit" rover (Mars Exploration Rover A or MER-2) is one of the two rovers launched to Mars in mid-2003. The rovers arrived at Mars in January of 2004 equipped with a battery of scientific instruments and will be able to traverse 100 meters a day. The nominal plan called for the missions to last for 90 days, until April 2004, but both have lasted well beyond this time. The scientific goals of the rover missions are to gather data to help determine if life ever arose on Mars, characterize th -
Opportunity (MER-B) - Mars Rover
"Opportunity" (Mars Exploration Rover B or MER-1) is one of the two rovers launched to Mars in mid-2003. The rovers arrived at Mars in January of 2004 equipped with a battery of scientific instruments and will be able to traverse 100 meters a day. The nominal plan called for the missions to last for 90 days, until April 2004, but the mission has lasted well beyond this time. The scientific goals of the rover missions are to gather data to help determine if life ever arose on Mars, characterize t -
Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter - Mars Orbiter
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is designed to orbit Mars over a full martian year and gather data with six scientific instruments, including a high-resolution imager. The science objectives of the mission are to: characterize the present climate of Mars and its physical mechanisms of seasonal and interannual climate change; determine the nature of complex layered terrain on Mars and identify water-related landforms; search for sites showing evidence of aqueous and/or hydrothermal activity -
Phoenix - Mars Scout Lander
The Phoenix Mars Lander is designed to study the surface and near-surface environment of a landing site in the high northern area of Mars. The primary science objectives for Phoenix are to: determine polar climate and weather, interaction with the surface, and composition of the lower atmosphere around 70 degrees north for at least 90 sols; determine the atmospheric characteristics during descent through the atmosphere; characterize the geomorphology and active processes shaping the northern pla -
Mars Science Laboratory - 26 November 2011 - Mars Rover
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), nicknamed Curiosity, is a large rover with the objective of exploring the martian environment as a former or current habitat for life. The mission is planned to operate on Mars over at least a full martian year (687 Earth days). The rover has eight science objectives: 1) determine the nature and inventory of organic carbon compounds; 2) inventory the chemical building blocks of life; 3) identify features that may represent the effects of biological processes; 4 -
Mars
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MAVEN - Mars Scout Mission Orbiter
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission is designed to explore Mars' upper atmosphere and ionosphere, and interactions with the solar wind, specifically to determine the loss of volatile compounds to space through time and how it has affected the history of Mars' atmosphere and climate. MAVEN has four primary scientific objectives: 1) Determine the role that loss of volatiles from the Mars atmosphere to space has played through time; 2) determine the current state of the upper