KNOWPIA
WELCOME TO KNOWPIA
List of artificial objects on Mars 
Summary
The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of Mars, consisting of spacecraft which were launched from Earth. Although most are defunct after having served their purpose, the Curiosity rover, the InSight lander, and the Perseverance rover are all active. Perseverance and its Ingenuity helicopter are the most recent artificial objects to land safely on Mars.
The table does not include smaller objects, such as springs, fragments, parachutes and heat shields. As of February 2021[update], there are 14 missions with objects on the surface of Mars. Some of these missions contain multiple spacecraft.
Legend
| Colors | |
|---|---|
| No data collection | |
| Transmitted data | |
| Operational | |
Table of objects
In this listing, it is implied that each mission left debris according to its design. For example, the Schiaparelli EDM lander likely exploded on impact, creating an unknown number of fragments at one location. At another location, there may be a lower heat shield, and at another location, a parachute and upper heat shield. Another example is the counterweights ejected by MSL during its descent. In some cases, the nature and location of this additional debris has been determined and, in other cases, even the location of the main spacecraft has remained unknown. The identification of Beagle 2 after 11 years is one of the greatest breakthroughs yet, since prior to that, it could not be confirmed what had happened.[2] Spacecraft that have not been precisely located include Mars 2, Mars 3, Mars 6, Mars Polar Lander, and the two Deep Space 2 probes.
| Year | Agency | Mission | Object(s) | Image | Mass (kg) | Status | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | USSR | Mars 2 |  |
1210 | Failure during descent; crashed on surface | Estimated at 45°S 313°W / 45°S 313°W[3] | |
| 1971 | USSR | Mars 3 | |
1210 | Transmission failure 14.5 seconds after soft landing | Estimated at Sirenum Terra | |
| 1973 | USSR | Mars 6 |  |
635 | Returned corrupted data for 224 seconds during its descent but contact lost before reaching surface[5] | Estimated at Margaritifer Terra | |
| 1976 | NASA | Viking 1 | Viking 1 lander |  |
657 | Operated 2245 sols. Last contact Nov 11, 1982 | Chryse Planitia |
| 1976 | NASA | Viking 2 | Viking 2 lander | |
657 | Operated 1281 sols. Last contact Apr 11, 1980 | Utopia Planitia |
| 1997 | NASA | Mars Pathfinder | Pathfinder (lander) |  |
360 | Operated 83 sols. Last contact Sep 27, 1997[9] | Ares Vallis |
| Sojourner (rover) | 11.5 | ||||||
| 1999 | NASA | Mars Surveyor '98 | Mars Polar Lander and
Deep Space 2 (probes) |
 |
500 | Unknown failure during descent; crashed on surface | Estimated at Ultimi Scopuli |
| 2003 | ESA
(UK) |
Mars Express | Beagle 2 (lander) |  |
33.2 | Landed safely; solar panels failed to deploy | Isidis Planitia |
| 2004 | NASA | Mars Exploration Rover | Spirit (rover) |  |
185 | Operated 2210 sols. Last contact Mar 22, 2010 | Gusev crater |
| Opportunity (rover) | |
185 | Operated 5111 sols. Last contact June 10, 2018 | Meridiani Planum | |||
| 2008 | NASA | Phoenix Mars Lander | Phoenix (lander) |  |
350 | Operated 155 sols. Last contact Nov 2, 2008 | Green Valley in Vastitas Borealis |
| 2012 | NASA | Mars Science Laboratory | Curiosity (rover) |  |
900 | Still in operation, 3093 sols | Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater |
| 2016 | ESA | ExoMars 2016 | Schiaparelli EDM (lander) |  |
577 | Crashed on impact; transmitted descent telemetry | Meridiani Planum |
| 2018 | NASA | InSight | InSight (lander) |  |
358 | Still in operation, 852 sols | Elysium Planitia |
| 2021 | NASA | Mars 2020 | Perseverance (rover) |  |
1024 | Still in operation, 58 sols | Jezero crater |
| Ingenuity (helicopter) |  |
1.8 | Still in operational (deployment successful) , 58 sols |
- Combined, the total weight would be 9470 kg.
- Orbiters whose orbit could eventually decay and impact the surface, include: Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Global Surveyor, Phobos 2, Mars 2, Mars 3, and Mars 5 orbiters, and Mariner 9. (See also List of Mars orbiters)
- The fate of Mars Climate Orbiter (1999) is unknown, but it is thought to have burnt up in the atmosphere before impacting.
- Mariner 9, which entered Mars orbit in 1971, is expected to remain in orbit until approximately 2022, when the spacecraft is projected to enter the Martian atmosphere and either burn up or crash into the planet's surface.[12]
Examples (surface)
 MER-A Spirit rover lander |
 MER-B Opportunity's heat shield |
 MSL Curiosity self-portrait, 2016 |
From orbit
 Viking 1 lander in 2006 (HiRise) |
 Viking 2 lander in 2006 (HiRise) |
 Phoenix lander and heat-shield in 2009 (HiRise) |
|
 MER-B Opportunity lander in Eagle crater (2006) |
 Beagle 2, after 11 years found and showing that it made it to the surface but did not expand fully to transmit |
 Curiosity landing remnants |
 Schiaparelli remnants (2016) |
Landing site namings and memorials
Several landing sites have been named, either the spacecraft itself or the landing site:
- Pennants of Soviet Union on Mars 2 and Mars 3 landers (1971).[13]
- Thomas Mutch Memorial Station, the Viking 1 lander (1976).[14]
- Gerald Soffen Memorial Station, the Viking 2 lander (1976).[15]
- Carl Sagan Memorial Station, Mars Pathfinder (Sojourner) base (1997).[16]
- Challenger Memorial Station, MER-B (Opportunity) landing site area (2004).[17]
- Columbia Memorial Station, MER-A (Spirit) landing site area (2004).[18]
- Green Valley, the Phoenix lander (2008).
- Bradbury Landing, Curiosity rover landing site (August 6, 2012).[19] (Note: Due to the nature of the landing system, there is no actual space hardware at the touchdown location of Bradbury Landing, see Curiosity (rover))
- InSight Landing, the InSight lander (2018)
- Octavia E. Butler Landing, Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter landing site (February 18, 2021)
Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars, overlain with locations of memorial sites on Mars. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted. (See also: Mars map & Mars Rovers map) (view • discuss)
( Named • Debris • Unknown location )
See also
- Exploration of Mars
- Life on Mars
- List of artificial objects on extra-terrestrial surfaces
- List of extraterrestrial memorials
- List of missions to Mars
- Satellites of Mars
- Timeline of planetary exploration
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 2". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 3". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ^ [3]
- ^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 6". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Viking 1 lander". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Viking 2 lander". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ^ "Mars Pathfinder". Retrieved 2011-12-07.
- ^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Pathfinder". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Pathfinder Rover". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ^ NASA - This Month in NASA History: Mariner 9, November 29, 2011 – Vol. 4, Issue 9 Archived May 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Soviet Craft - Mars (1960-1974) Archived 2013-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ NSSDC - Viking 1 lander
- ^ NSSDC - Viking 2 lander
- ^ NSSDC - Mars Pathfinder
- ^ NASA - Space Shuttle Challenger Crew Memorialized on Mars
- ^ NASA - Space Shuttle Columbia Crew Memorialized on Mars
- ^ "Curiosity Landing Site Named for Ray Bradbury". NASA. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars, overlain with locations of Mars landers and rovers. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted. (See also: Mars map, Mars Memorials, Mars Memorials map) (view • discuss)
( Active Rover • Active Lander • Future )
| Geography | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astronomy |
| ||||||||||
| Exploration |
| ||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Category
Solar System portal