Decade |
|
---|---|
1960s | 12
|
1970s | 11
|
1980s | 2
|
1990s | 7
|
2000s | 8
|
2010s | 6
|
2020+ | 3
|
This is a list of the 49 (and counting) spacecraft missions (including unsuccessful ones) relating to the planet Mars, such as orbiters and rovers.
Mission | Spacecraft | Launch Date | Operator | Mission Type[1] | Outcome[2] | Remarks | Carrier rocket[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1M No.1 | 1M No.1 | 10 October 1960 | OKB-1![]() |
Flyby | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Molniya |
1M No.2 | 1M No.2 | 14 October 1960 | OKB-1![]() |
Flyby | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Molniya |
2MV-4 No.1 | 2MV-4 No.1 | 24 October 1962 | ![]() |
Flyby | Launch failure | Booster stage ("Block L") disintegrated in LEO | Molniya |
Mars 1 | Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) |
1 November 1962 | ![]() |
Flyby | Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before flyby | Molniya |
2MV-3 No.1 | 2MV-3 No.1 | 4 November 1962 | ![]() |
Lander | Launch failure | Never left LEO | Molniya |
Mariner 3 | Mariner 3 | 5 November 1964 | NASA![]() |
Flyby | Launch failure | Payload fairing failed to separate | Atlas LV-3 Agena-D |
Mariner 4 | Mariner 4 | 28 November 1964 | NASA![]() |
Flyby | Successful | The first flyby of Mars on 15 July 1965 | Atlas LV-3 Agena-D |
Zond 2 | Zond 2 (3MV-4A No.2) |
30 November 1964 | ![]() |
Flyby | Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before flyby | Molniya |
Mariner 6 | Mariner 6 | 25 February 1969 | NASA![]() |
Flyby | Successful | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | |
2M No.521 | 2M No.521
(1969A)[4] |
27 March 1969 | ![]() |
Orbiter | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Proton-K/D |
Mariner 7 | Mariner 7 | 27 March 1969 | NASA![]() |
Flyby | Successful | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | |
2M No.522 | 2M No.522
(1969B)[4] |
2 April 1969 | ![]() |
Orbiter | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Proton-K/D |
Mariner 8 | Mariner 8 | 9 May 1971 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D |
Kosmos 419 | Kosmos 419 (3MS No.170) |
10 May 1971 | ![]() |
Orbiter | Launch failure | Never left LEO; booster stage burn timer set incorrectly | Proton-K/D |
Mars 2 | Mars 2 (4M No.171) |
19 May 1971 | ![]() |
Orbiter | Successful | Entered orbit on 27 November 1971, operated for 362 orbits[5] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 2 lander (SA 4M No.171) |
Lander | Spacecraft failure | First impact on Mars, deployed from Mars 2, failed to land during attempt on 27 November 1971.[6] | ||||
Prop-M | Rover | Failure Lost with Mars 2 |
Lost when the Mars 2 lander crashed into the surface of Mars. | ||||
Mars 3 | Mars 3 (4M No.172) |
28 May 1971 | ![]() |
Orbiter | Successful | Entered orbit on 2 December 1971, operated for 20 orbits[7][8] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 3 lander (SA 4M No.172) |
Lander | Partial success[9][10] | The first lander on Mars, soft landed on 2 December 1971. A first partial image (70 lines) was transmitted. Contact lost 104.5 seconds[11] after landing.[12] | ||||
Prop-M | Rover | Carrier vehicle failed before rover was deployed | First rover on another planet, 4.5 kg (9.9 lb) rover connected to the Mars 3 lander by a tether. Deployment status unknown due to loss of communications with the Mars 3 lander.[11] | ||||
Mariner 9 | Mariner 9 | 30 May 1971 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Successful[13] | The first orbiter of Mars. Entered orbit on 14 November 1971, deactivated 516 days after entering orbit | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D |
Mars 4 | Mars 4 (3MS No.52S) |
21 July 1973 | ![]() |
Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Failed to perform orbital insertion burn | Proton-K/D |
Mars 5 | Mars 5 (3MS No.53S) |
25 July 1973 | ![]() |
Orbiter | Successful | Contact lost after 9 days in Mars orbit. returned 180 frames | Proton-K/D |
Mars 6 | Mars 6 (3MP No.50P) |
5 August 1973 | ![]() |
Flyby | Successful | Flyby bus collected data.[14] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 6 lander | Lander | Spacecraft failure | Contact lost upon landing, atmospheric data mostly unusable. | ||||
Mars 7 | Mars 7 (3MP No.51P) |
9 August 1973 | ![]() |
Flyby | Successful | Flyby bus collected data. | Proton-K/D |
Mars 7 lander | Lander | Spacecraft failure | Separated from coast stage prematurely, failed to enter Martian atmosphere. | ||||
Viking 1 | Viking 1 orbiter | 20 August 1975 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Successful | Operated for 1385 orbits. Entered Mars orbit on 19 June 1976. | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Viking 1 lander | Lander | Successful | The second lander successfully returning data, deployed from Viking 1 orbiter. Operated for 2245 sols. Landed on Mars in 20 July 1976. | ||||
Viking 2 | Viking 2 orbiter | 9 September 1975 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Successful | Operated for 700 orbits. Entered Mars orbit on 7 August 1976. | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Viking 2 lander | Lander | Successful | Deployed from Viking 2 orbiter, operated for 1281 sols (11 April 1980). Landed on Mars on September 1976. | ||||
Phobos 1 | Phobos 1 (1F No.101) |
7 July 1988 | ![]() |
Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before reaching Mars; failed to enter orbit | Proton-K/D-2 |
DAS | Phobos lander | Failure Lost with Phobos 1 |
To have been deployed by Phobos 1 | ||||
Phobos 2 | Phobos 2 (1F No.102) |
12 July 1988 | ![]() |
Orbiter | Mostly successful | Orbital observations successful, communications lost before lander deployment. | Proton-K/D-2 |
Prop-F | Phobos rover | Failure Lost with Phobos 2 |
To have been deployed by Phobos 2 | ||||
DAS | Phobos lander | Failure Lost with Phobos 2 |
To have been deployed by Phobos 2 | ||||
Mars Observer | Mars Observer | 25 September 1992 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Lost communications before orbital insertion | Commercial Titan III |
Mars Global Surveyor | Mars Global Surveyor | 7 November 1996 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Successful | Operated for seven years | Delta II 7925 |
Mars 96 | Mars 96 (M1 No.520)(Mars-8)[4] |
16 November 1996 | Rosaviakosmos![]() |
Orbiter Penetrators |
Spacecraft failure | Never left LEO | Proton-K/D-2 |
Mars 96 lander | Lander | Failure Lost with Mars 96 |
Two Mars landers to have been deployed by Mars 96. | ||||
Mars 96 lander | Lander | Failure Lost with Mars 96 | |||||
Mars 96 penetrator | Penetrator | Failure Lost with Mars 96 |
Two Mars Penetrators to have been deployed by Mars 96. | ||||
Mars 96 penetrator | Penetrator | Failure Lost with Mars 96 | |||||
Mars Pathfinder | Mars Pathfinder | 4 December 1996 | NASA![]() |
Lander | Successful | Landed at 19.13°N 33.22°W on 4 July 1997,[15] Last contact on 27 September 1997 | Delta II 7925 |
Sojourner | Rover | Successful | The first rover to operate on another planet, operated for 84 days[16] | ||||
Nozomi | Nozomi (PLANET-B) |
3 July 1998 | ISAS![]() |
Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Performed a Mars flyby. Later contact lost due to loss of fuel. | M-V |
Mars Climate Orbiter | Mars Climate Orbiter | 11 December 1998 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Approached Mars too closely during orbit insertion attempt due to a software interface bug involving different units for impulse and burned up in the atmosphere | Delta II 7425 |
Mars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2 | Mars Polar Lander | 3 January 1999 | NASA![]() |
Lander | Spacecraft failure | Failed to land | Delta II 7425 |
Deep Space 2 | Penetrator | Spacecraft failure | No data transmitted after deployment from MPL. | ||||
Deep Space 2 | Penetrator | Spacecraft failure | |||||
Mars Odyssey | Mars Odyssey | 7 April 2001 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Operational | Expected to remain operational until 2025. | Delta II 7925 |
Mars Express | Mars Express | 2 June 2003 | ESA![]() |
Orbiter | Operational | Enough fuel to remain operational until 2026. | Soyuz-FG/Fregat |
Beagle 2 | ESA | Lander | Lander failure | No communications received after release from Mars Express. Orbital images of landing site suggest a successful landing, but two solar panels failed to deploy, obstructing its communications. | |||
Spirit | Spirit (MER-A) |
10 June 2003 | NASA![]() |
Rover | Successful | Landed on 4 January 2004. Operated for 2208 sols |
Delta II 7925 |
Opportunity | Opportunity (MER-B) |
8 July 2003 | NASA![]() |
Rover | Successful | Landed on 25 January 2004. Operated for 5351 sols |
Delta II 7925H |
Rosetta | Rosetta | 2 March 2004 | ESA![]() |
Flyby
(Gravity assist) |
Successful | Flyby in February 2007 en route to 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko[17] | Ariane 5G+ |
Philae | Flyby
(Gravity assist) |
Successful | |||||
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | 12 August 2005 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 10 March 2006 | Atlas V 401 |
Phoenix | Phoenix | 4 August 2007 | NASA![]() |
Lander | Successful | Landed on 25 May 2008. End of mission 2 November 2008 |
Delta II 7925 |
Dawn | Dawn | 27 September 2007 | NASA![]() |
Flyby
(Gravity assist) |
Successful | Flyby in February 2009 en route to 4 Vesta and Ceres | Delta II 7925H |
Fobos-Grunt/Yinghuo-1 | Fobos-Grunt | 8 November 2011 | Roskosmos![]() |
Orbiter Phobos sample return |
Spacecraft failure | Never left LEO (intended to depart under own power) | Zenit-2M |
Yinghuo-1 | CNSA![]() |
Orbiter | Failure Lost with Fobos-Grunt |
To have been deployed by Fobos-Grunt | |||
Mars Science Laboratory | Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) |
26 November 2011 | NASA![]() |
Rover | Operational | Landed on 6 August 2012 | Atlas V 541 |
Mars Orbiter Mission | Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) |
5 November 2013 | ISRO![]() |
Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 24 September 2014. Mission extended to 2020.[18] | PSLV-XL |
MAVEN | MAVEN | 18 November 2013 | NASA![]() |
Orbiter | Operational | Orbit insertion on 22 September 2014[19] | Atlas V 401 |
ExoMars 2016 | ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter | 14 March 2016 | ESA/Roscosmos![]() ![]() |
Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 19 October 2016 | Proton-M/Briz-M |
Schiaparelli EDM lander | ESA![]() |
Lander | Spacecraft failure | Carried by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Although the lander crashed,[20][21] engineering data on the first five minutes of entry was successfully retrieved.[22][23] | |||
InSight | InSight | 5 May 2018[24][25] | NASA![]() |
Lander | Operational | Landed on 26 November 2018. | Atlas V 401 |
MarCO A | Flyby | Successful | Flyby 26 November 2018. Last contact 29 December 2018. | ||||
MarCO B | Flyby | Successful | Flyby 26 November 2018. Last contact 4 January 2019. | ||||
Emirates Mars Mission | Hope | 19 July 2020[26] | MBRSC![]() |
Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 9 February 2021.[27][28][29] | H-IIA |
Tianwen-1 | Tianwen-1 orbiter | 23 July 2020[30][31] | CNSA![]() |
Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 10 February 2021 | Long March 5 |
Tianwen-1 lander | Lander | In orbit | Proposed landing: NET May 2021 | ||||
Tianwen-1 rover | Rover | In orbit | Proposed landing: NET May 2021 | ||||
Mars 2020 | Perseverance | 30 July 2020[32] | NASA![]() |
Rover | Operational | Landed on 18 February 2021[33] | Atlas V 541 |
Ingenuity | Helicopter | Operational | Landed on 18 February 2021.[34] Deployed from the Perseverance rover. The First rotorcraft flight on Mars achieved on April 19, 2021.[35] |
There are a number of derelict orbiters around Mars whose location is not known precisely; there is a proposal to search for small moons, dust rings, and old orbiters with the Optical Navigation Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. [36] There should be 8 derelict Mars orbiters barring unforeseen events if they have not decayed as of 2016.[37] One example is Mariner 9, which entered Mars orbit in 1971 and 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.[38] The Viking 1 orbiter is predicted not to decay until at least 2019.[39] One orbiter that is confirmed to have undergone Mars atmospheric entry is Mars Climate Orbiter.[citation needed]
Mission | Organization | Launch | Type |
---|---|---|---|
ExoMars 2022
Kazachok lander /"Rosalind Franklin" rover |
SRI RAS![]() |
2022 | Lander |
ESA![]() |
2022[40][41] | Rover | |
Mars Terahertz Microsatellite[42] | NICT, ISSL![]() |
2022[43] | Orbiter, lander |
Rocket Lab Photon - Payload Unknown | NASA![]() |
2024[44] | Orbiter |
Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (Mangalyaan 2) | ISRO![]() |
2024[45][46] | Orbiter[47][48] |
Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) | JAXA![]() |
2024[49][50] | Orbiter |
Psyche | NASA![]() |
2022 | Flyby En route to 16 Psyche |
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer | ESA![]() |
2025 | Flyby En route to Jupiter |
Missions dedicated to explore the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. Many missions to Mars have also included dedicated observations of the Moons, while this section is about missions focused solely on them. There have been three unsuccessful dedicated missions and many proposals. Because of the proximity of the Mars moons to Mars, any mission to them may also be considered a mission to Mars from some perspectives.
There have been at least three proposals in the United States Discovery Program, including PADME, PANDORA, and MERLIN.[56] The ESA has also considered a sample return mission, one of the latest known as Martian Moon Sample Return or MMSR, and it may use heritage from an asteroid sample return mission.[57]
Proposal | Target | Reference |
---|---|---|
Aladdin | Phobos and Deimos | [58] |
DePhine | Phobos and Deimos | [59] |
DSR | Deimos | [60] |
Gulliver | Deimos | [61] |
Hall | Phobos and Deimos | [62] |
M-PADS | Phobos and Deimos | [63] |
Merlin | Phobos and Deimos | [64] |
MMSR (2011 ver.) | Phobos or Deimos | [57] |
OSRIS-REx 2 | Phobos or Deimos | [65] |
Pandora | Phobos and Deimos | [56] |
PCROSS | Phobos | [66] |
Phobos Surveyor | Phobos | [67] |
PRIME | Phobos | [68] |
Fobos-Grunt 2 | Phobos | [69] |
Phootprint | Phobos | [70][71] |
PADME | Phobos and Deimos | [72][73] |
In Japan, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) is developing a sample return mission to Phobos,[74][75] due to launch in 2024. This mission is called Martian Moons Exploration (MMX)[76] and is proposed as a flagship Strategic Large Mission.[77] MMX will build on the expertise the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would gain through the Hayabusa2 and SLIM missions.[78] As of January 2018, MMX is set for launch in September 2024.[79]
Planned mission | Target | Reference |
---|---|---|
Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) | Phobos and Deimos | [76] |
Three missions to land on Phobos have been launched; the Phobos program in the late 1980s saw the launch of Fobos 1 and Fobos 2, while the Fobos-Grunt sample return mission was launched in 2011. None of these missions were successful: Fobos 1 failed en route to Mars, Fobos 2 failed shortly before landing, and Fobos-Grunt never left low Earth orbit.
Launched mission | Target | Reference |
---|---|---|
Phobos 1 | Phobos | |
Phobos 2 | Phobos | |
Fobos-Grunt | Phobos |
Missions sent to the Martian system have returned data on Phobos and Deimos and missions specifically dedicated to the moons are a subset of missions Mars that often include dedicated goals to acquire data about these moons. An example of this is the imaging campaigns by Mars Express of the Mars moons.
Osiris-Rex 2 was a proposal to make OR a double mission, with the other one collecting samples from the two Mars moons.[80] In 2012, it was stated that this mission would be the both quickest and least expensive way to get samples from the Moons.[65]
The 'Red Rocks Project', a part of Lockheed Martin's "Stepping stones to Mars" program, proposed to explore Mars robotically from Deimos.[81][82]
examples only
The Mars 2 and 3 rover, which landed on Mars in 1971.
Mars 3 was the first spacecraft to make a successful soft landing on Mars.
It was the first spacecraft to enter orbit around another world.
A technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars.