| Mission |
Country |
Launch Date |
Purpose |
Results |
| [Unnamed] |
USSR |
10/10/60 |
Mars flyby |
did not reach Earth orbit |
| [Unnamed], |
USSR, |
10/14/60 |
Mars flyby |
did not reach Earth orbit |
| [Unnamed] |
USSR |
10/24/62 |
Mars flyby |
achieved Earth orbit only |
| Mars 1 |
USSR |
11/1/62 |
Mars flyby |
radio failed at 106 million km |
| [Unnamed] |
USSR |
11/4/62 |
Mars flyby |
achieved Earth orbit only |
| Mariner 3 |
U.S. |
11/5/64 |
Mars flyby |
shroud failed to jettison |
| Mariner 4 |
U.S. |
11/28/64 |
first successful Mars flyby 7/14/65 |
returned 21 photos |
| Zond 2 |
USSR |
11/30/64 |
Mars flyby |
passed Mars but radio failed, returned no planetary data |
| Mariner 6 |
U.S. |
2/24/69 |
Mars flyby 7/31/69 |
returned 75 photos |
| Mariner 7 |
U.S. |
3/27/69 |
Mars flyby 8/5/69 |
returned 126 photos |
| Mariner 8, |
U.S. |
5/8/71 |
Mars orbiter |
failed during launch |
| Kosmos 419 |
USSR |
5/10/71 |
Mars lander |
achieved Earth orbit only |
| Mars 2 |
USSR |
5/19/71 |
Mars orbiter/lander arrived 11/27/71 |
no useful data, lander burned up due to steep entry |
| Mars 3 |
USSR |
5/28/71 |
Mars orbiter/lander, arrived 12/3/71 |
lander operated on surface for 20 seconds before failing |
| Mariner 9 |
U.S. |
5/30/71 |
Mars orbiter, in orbit 11/13/71 to 10/27/72 |
returned 7,329 photos |
| Mars 4 |
USSR |
7/21/73 |
flew past Mars 2/10/74 |
failed Mars orbiter |
| Mars 5 |
USSR |
7/25/73 |
Mars orbiter, arrived 2/12/74 |
lasted a few days |
| Mars 6 |
USSR |
8/5/73 |
Mars flyby module and lander, arrived 3/12/74 |
lander failed due to fast impact |
| Mars 7 |
USSR |
8/9/73 |
Mars flyby module and lander, arrived 3/9/74 |
lander missed the planet |
| Viking 1 |
U.S. |
8/20/75 |
Mars orbiter/lander, orbit 6/19/76-1980 |
lander 7/20/76-1982 |
| Viking 2 |
U.S. |
9/9/75 |
Mars orbiter/lander, orbit 8/7/76-1987 lander 9/3/76-1980 |
combined, the Viking orbiters and landers returned 50,000+ photos |
| Phobos 1 |
USSR |
7/7/88 |
Mars/Phobos orbiter/lander |
lost 8/88 en route to Mars |
| Phobos 2 |
USSR |
7/12/88 |
Mars/Phobos orbiter/lander |
lost 3/89 near Phobos |
| Mars Observer |
U.S. |
9/25/92 |
|
lost just before Mars arrival 8/21/93 |
| Mars Global Surveyor |
U.S. |
11/7/96 |
Mars orbiter |
arrived 9/12/97, high-detail mapping through 1/00, now conducting second extended mission through fall 2004 |
| Mars 96 |
Russia |
11/16/96 |
orbiter and landers |
launch vehicle failed |
| Mars Pathfinder |
U.S. |
12/4/96 |
Mars lander and rover |
landed 7/4/97, last transmission 9/27/97 |
| Nozomi |
Japan |
7/4/98 |
Mars orbiter |
currently in orbit around the Sun; Mars arrival delayed to 12/13/03 due to propulsion problem |
| Mars Climate Orbiter |
U.S. |
12/11/98 |
|
lost upon arrival 9/23/99 |
| Mars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2 |
U.S. |
1/3/99 |
lander and soil probes |
lost on arrival 12/3/99 |
| Mars Odyssey |
U.S. |
3/7/01 |
Mars orbiter, arrived 10/24/01 |
currently conducting prime mission studying global composition, ground ice, thermal imaging |
| Mars Express/Beagle 2 |
European Space Agency |
6/2/03 |
Mars orbiter/lander |
27 December 2003
Attempts to communicate with Beagle 2 ended without receiving a signal. The Mars Express flight control team at ESOC executed another critical manoeuvre, bringing the spacecraft from an equatorial orbit into a polar orbit around Mars. In a polar orbit, Mars Express can now start to prepare its scientific observation mission as planned, working much as a like an 'Mars-observation satellite'.
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