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This is a list of spacecraft missions (including unsuccessful ones) to the planet Mars, such as orbiters, landers, and rovers.
Mission | Spacecraft | Launch Date | Operator | Mission Type [1] | Outcome [2] | Remarks | Carrier rocket [3] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1M No.1 | 1M No.1 | 10 October 1960 | OKB-1 ![]() | Flyby | Launch failure | Failed to achieve Earth orbit | Molniya |
2 | 1M No.2 | 1M No.2 | 14 October 1960 | OKB-1 ![]() | Flyby | Launch failure | Failed to achieve Earth orbit | Molniya |
3 | 2MV-4 No.1 | 2MV-4 No.1 | 24 October 1962 | ![]() | Flyby | Launch failure | Booster stage ("Block L") disintegrated in LEO | Molniya |
4 | Mars 1 | Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) | 1 November 1962 | ![]() | Flyby | Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before first flyby | Molniya |
5 | 2MV-3 No.1 | 2MV-3 No.1 | 4 November 1962 | ![]() | Lander | Launch failure | Never left LEO | Molniya |
6 | Mariner 3 | Mariner 3 | 5 November 1964 | NASA ![]() | Flyby | Launch failure | Payload fairing failed to separate | Atlas LV-3 Agena-D |
7 | Mariner 4 | Mariner 4 | 28 November 1964 | NASA ![]() | Flyby | Successful | First successful flyby of Mars on 15 July 1965 | Atlas LV-3 Agena-D |
8 | Zond 2 | Zond 2 (3MV-4A No.2) | 30 November 1964 | ![]() | Flyby | Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before flyby | Molniya |
9 | Mariner 6 | Mariner 6 | 25 February 1969 | NASA ![]() | Flyby | Successful | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | |
10 | 2M No.521 | 2M No.521 (1969A) [4] | 27 March 1969 | ![]() | Orbiter | Launch failure | Failed to achieve Earth orbit | Proton-K/D |
11 | Mariner 7 | Mariner 7 | 27 March 1969 | NASA ![]() | Flyby | Successful | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | |
12 | 2M No.522 | 2M No.522 (1969B) [4] | 2 April 1969 | ![]() | Orbiter | Launch failure | Failed to achieve Earth orbit | Proton-K/D |
13 | Mariner 8 | Mariner 8 | 9 May 1971 | NASA ![]() | Orbiter | Launch failure | Failed to achieve Earth orbit | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D |
14 | 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 |
15 | Mars 2 | Mars 2 (4M No.171) | 19 May 1971 | ![]() | Orbiter | Successful | On November 27 it became in short sequence the second spacecraft to orbit another planet. [5] Operated for 362 orbits [6] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 2 lander (SA 4M No.171) | Lander | Spacecraft failure | First lander to impact Mars. Deployed from Mars 2, failed to land during attempt on 27 November 1971. [7] | |||||
PrOP-M | Rover | Failure Lost with Mars 2 | First rover launched to Mars. Lost when the Mars 2 lander crashed into the surface of Mars. | |||||
16 | Mars 3 | Mars 3 (4M No.172) | 28 May 1971 | ![]() | Orbiter | Successful | On December 2 it became in short sequence the third spacecraft to orbit another planet. [5] Operated for 20 orbits [8] [9] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 3 lander (SA 4M No.172) | Lander | Partial success [10] [11] | First lander to make a soft landing on Mars. Landed on 2 December 1971. First partial image (70 lines) transmitted showing "gray background with no details". [8] Contact lost 20 seconds after transmission started, 110 seconds after landing. [12] [13] | |||||
PrOP-M | Rover | Carrier vehicle failed before rover was deployed | First rover to make a soft landing 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. [12] | |||||
17 | Mariner 9 | Mariner 9 | 30 May 1971 | NASA ![]() | Orbiter | Successful [14] | First spacecraft to orbit another planet, two weeks ahead of Mars 2 on November 14. [5] Deactivated 516 days after entering orbit. | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D |
18 | Mars 4 | Mars 4 (3MS No.52S) | 21 July 1973 | ![]() | Orbiter | Partial success [15] | Failed to perform orbital insertion burn. Returned photographs of Mars during flyby. | Proton-K/D |
19 | 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 |
20 | Mars 6 | Mars 6 (3MP No.50P) | 5 August 1973 | ![]() | Flyby | Successful | Flyby bus collected data. [16] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 6 lander | Lander | Spacecraft failure | Contact lost upon landing, atmospheric data mostly unusable. | |||||
21 | 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. | |||||
22 | 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 | First successful Mars lander. Deployed from Viking 1 orbiter. Landed on Mars on 20 July 1976. Operated for 2245 sols. | |||||
23 | 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. Landed on Mars in September 1976. Operated for 1281 sols (11 April 1980). | |||||
24 | 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 | |||||
25 | 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 | |||||
26 | Mars Observer | Mars Observer | 25 September 1992 | NASA ![]() | Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Lost communications before orbital insertion | Commercial Titan III |
27 | Mars Global Surveyor | Mars Global Surveyor | 7 November 1996 | NASA ![]() | Orbiter | Successful | Operated for ten years | Delta II 7925 |
28 | Mars 96 | Mars 96 (M1 No.520) (Mars-8) [4] | 16 November 1996 | Rosaviakosmos ![]() | Orbiter Penetrators | Launch failure | Never left LEO | Proton-K/D-2 |
Mars 96 lander | Lander | Launch failure Lost with Mars 96 | Two Mars landers to have been deployed by Mars 96. | |||||
Mars 96 lander | Lander | Launch failure Lost with Mars 96 | ||||||
Mars 96 penetrator | Penetrator | Launch failure Lost with Mars 96 | Two Mars Penetrators to have been deployed by Mars 96. | |||||
Mars 96 penetrator | Penetrator | Launch failure Lost with Mars 96 | ||||||
29 | Mars Pathfinder | Mars Pathfinder | 4 December 1996 | NASA ![]() | Lander | Successful | Landed at 19.13°N 33.22°W on 4 July 1997, [17] Last contact on 27 September 1997 | Delta II 7925 |
Sojourner | Rover | Successful | First rover to operate on another planet. Operated for 84 days [18] | |||||
30 | Nozomi | Nozomi (PLANET-B) | 3 July 1998 | ISAS ![]() | Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Performed a Mars flyby. Later contact lost due to loss of fuel. However provided crucial information about the deep space environment. [19] | M-V |
31 | 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 either burned up in the atmosphere or entered solar orbit | Delta II 7425 |
32 | Mars Polar Lander / Deep Space 2 | Mars Polar Lander | 3 January 1999 | NASA ![]() | Lander | Spacecraft failure | Failed to function after landing | Delta II 7425 |
Deep Space 2 | Penetrator | Spacecraft failure | No data transmitted after deployment from MPL. | |||||
Deep Space 2 | Penetrator | Spacecraft failure | ||||||
33 | Mars Odyssey | Mars Odyssey | 7 April 2001 | NASA ![]() | Orbiter | Operational | Expected to remain operational until 2025. | Delta II 7925 |
34 | Mars Express | Mars Express | 2 June 2003 | ESA | Orbiter | Operational | Enough fuel to remain operational until 2035 | Soyuz-FG / Fregat |
Beagle 2 | 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. | |||||
35 | Spirit | Spirit (MER-A) | 10 June 2003 | NASA ![]() | Rover | Successful | Landed on 4 January 2004. Operated for 2208 sols [20] | Delta II 7925 |
36 | 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 [21] | Ariane 5G+ |
Philae | Flyby (Gravity assist) | Successful | ||||||
37 | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | 12 August 2005 | NASA ![]() | Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 10 March 2006 | Atlas V 401 |
38 | 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 |
39 | Fobos-Grunt / Yinghuo-1 | Fobos-Grunt | 8 November 2011 | Roscosmos ![]() | Orbiter Phobos sample return | Launch failure | Never left LEO (intended to depart under own power) | Zenit-2M |
Yinghuo-1 | CNSA ![]() | Orbiter | Precluded Lost with Fobos-Grunt | To have been deployed by Fobos-Grunt | ||||
40 | Mars Science Laboratory | Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) | 26 November 2011 | NASA ![]() | Rover | Operational | Landed on 6 August 2012 | Atlas V 541 |
41 | Mars Orbiter Mission | Mars Orbiter Mission | 5 November 2013 | ISRO ![]() | Orbiter | Successful | Entered orbit on 24 September 2014. Mission extended to 2022, where the mission concluded on September 27, 2022 after contact was lost. [22] | PSLV-XL |
42 | MAVEN | MAVEN | 18 November 2013 | NASA ![]() | Orbiter | Operational | Orbit insertion on 22 September 2014 [23] | Atlas V 401 |
43 | ExoMars 2016 | ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter | 14 March 2016 | ESA/Roscosmos ESA/ ![]() | 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, [24] [25] engineering data on the first five minutes of entry was successfully retrieved. [26] [27] | ||||
44 | InSight | InSight | 5 May 2018 [28] [29] | NASA ![]() | Lander | Successful | Landed on 26 November 2018. Last contact 15 December 2022. [30] | 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. | |||||
45 | Emirates Mars Mission | Hope | 19 July 2020 [31] | MBRSC ![]() | Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 9 February 2021. [32] [33] [34] | H-IIA |
46 | Tianwen-1 | Tianwen-1 orbiter | 23 July 2020 [35] [36] | CNSA ![]() | Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 10 February 2021 | Long March 5 |
Tianwen-1 lander | Lander | Successful | Landed on 14 May 2021 | |||||
Zhurong rover | Rover | Successful | Landed on 14 May 2021 [37] Deployed by the Tianwen-1 lander on 22 May 2021. Became inactive on 20 May 2022. | |||||
Tianwen-1 Remote Camera | Lander | Successful | Landed on 14 May 2021 Deployed by the Zhurong rover on 1 June 2021. [38] | |||||
Tianwen-1 Deployable Camera 2 [39] | Orbiter | Successful | Entered orbit on 10 February 2021, deployed 31 December 2021 | |||||
47 | Mars 2020 | Perseverance | 30 July 2020 [40] | NASA ![]() | Rover | Operational | Landed on 18 February 2021 [41] | Atlas V 541 |
Ingenuity | Helicopter | Successful | First aerodynamic flight on another planet. Landed with Perseverance rover on 18 February 2021. [42] Deployed from rover on 3 April 2021. First flight achieved on April 19, 2021. [43] Retired on 25 January 2024 due to sustained rotor blade damage. | |||||
– | Psyche | Psyche | 13 October 2023 | NASA ![]() | Flyby (Gravity assist) | Enroute | Gravity assist en route to 16 Psyche in May 2026 [44] | Falcon Heavy |
– | Hera | Hera | 7 October 2024 | ESA ![]() | Flyby (Gravity assist) | Enroute | Gravity assist en route to 65803 Didymos in March 2025 | Falcon 9 |
– | Europa Clipper | Europa Clipper | 14 October 2024 | NASA ![]() | Flyby (Gravity assist) | Enroute | Gravity assist en route to Jupiter and Europa in February 2025 | Falcon Heavy |
In 1999, Mars Climate Orbiter accidentally entered Mars' atmosphere and either burnt up or left Mars' orbit on an unknown trajectory.[ citation needed ]
There are a number of derelict spacecraft orbiting Mars whose location is not known precisely. There is a proposal to use the Optical Navigation Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to search for small moons, dust rings and old orbiters. [45] As of 2016, there were believed to be eight derelict spacecraft in orbit around Mars (barring unforeseen event). [46] The Viking 1 orbiter was not expected to decay until at least 2019. [47] Mariner 9, which entered Mars orbit in 1971, was expected to remain in orbit until approximately 2022, when it was projected to enter the Martian atmosphere and either burn up, or crash into the planet's surface. [48]
There have also have been proposed 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.
Three missions to land on Phobos have been launched; the Soviet Phobos program in the late 1980s saw the launch of Phobos 1 and Phobos 2, while the Russian Fobos-Grunt sample return mission was launched in 2011. None of these missions were successful: Phobos 1 failed en route to Mars, Phobos 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 |
In Japan, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) is developing a sample return mission to Phobos. [50] [51] This mission is called Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) [52] and is a flagship Strategic Large Mission. [53] MMX will build on the expertise the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would gain through the Hayabusa2 and SLIM missions. [54] As of December 2023, MMX is scheduled to launch in 2026. [55]
Planned mission | Target | Reference |
---|---|---|
Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) | Phobos and Deimos | [52] |
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]
Osiris-Rex 2 was a proposal to make OR a double mission, with the other one collecting samples from the two Mars moons. [58] In 2012, it was stated that this mission would be both the quickest and least expensive way to get samples from the Moons. [59]
The 'Red Rocks Project,' a part of Lockheed Martin's "Stepping Stones to Mars" program, proposed to explore Mars robotically from Deimos. [60] [61]
Proposal | Target | Reference |
---|---|---|
Aladdin | Phobos and Deimos | [62] |
DePhine | Phobos and Deimos | [63] |
DSR | Deimos | [64] |
Gulliver | Deimos | [65] |
Hall | Phobos and Deimos | [66] |
M-PADS | Phobos and Deimos | [67] |
Merlin | Phobos and Deimos | [68] |
MMSR (2011 ver.) | Phobos or Deimos | [57] |
OSIRIS-REx 2 | Phobos or Deimos | [59] |
Pandora | Phobos and Deimos | [56] |
PCROSS | Phobos | [69] |
Phobos Surveyor | Phobos | [70] |
PRIME | Phobos | [71] |
Fobos-Grunt 2 | Phobos | [72] |
Phootprint | Phobos | [73] [74] |
PADME | Phobos and Deimos | [75] [76] |
Decade | |
---|---|
1960s | |
1970s | |
1980s | |
1990s | |
2000s | |
2010s | |
2020s |
Achieved
Failed attempt
† First to achieve
Country/Agency | Flyby | Orbit | Impact | Lander | Rover | Powered flight | Sample return | Crewed Landing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Mariner 4, 1965 † | Mariner 9, 1971 † | Mars Polar Lander, 1999 | Viking 1, 1976 | Sojourner, 1997 † | Ingenuity, 2021 † | — | — |
![]() | Tianwen-1, 2021 | Tianwen-1, 2021 | — | Tianwen-1, 2021 | Zhurong, 2021 | — | — | — |
![]() | Mars 2, 1971 | Mars 2, 1971 | Mars 2 Lander, 1971 † | Mars 3, 1971 † | PrOP-M, 1971 | — | — | — |
![]() | Mars Express, 2003 | Mars Express, 2003 | Schiaparelli EDM, 2016 | Schiaparelli EDM, 2016 | — | — | — | — |
![]() | TGO, 2016 | TGO, 2016 | Mars 96, 1996 | Mars 96, 1996 | — | — | — | — |
![]() | MOM, 2014 | MOM, 2014 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
![]() | Hope, 2021 | Hope, 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
![]() | Beagle 2, 2003 | — | Beagle 2, 2003 | Beagle 2, 2003 [a] | — | — | — | — |
![]() | Nozomi, 1998 | Nozomi, 1998 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Country/Agency | Impact | Lander | Rover | Sample return |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Phobos 1, 1988 | Phobos 1, 1988 | Phobos 1, 1988 | — |
![]() | Fobos-Grunt, 2011 | Fobos-Grunt, 2011 | — | Fobos-Grunt, 2011 |
Country | Agency or company | Successful | Partial failure | Failure | Operational | Gravity assist | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | NASA | 13 | - | 5 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
![]() | Energia | 1 | 6 | 10 | - | - | 17 |
![]() | Roscosmos | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | 3 |
![]() | ESA | - | 2 | - | - | 1 | 3 |
![]() | CNSA | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | 2 |
![]() | ISRO | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
![]() | UAESA | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
![]() | ISAS | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
![]() | NSC | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
Name | Proposed launch date | Type | Status | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | NET Spring 2025 | Two orbiters | under development | [77] |
![]() ![]() | 2026 | Phobos sample return mission | under development | [55] |
![]() | 2028 | Mars sample return mission | planned | [78] |
![]() | Mid 2020s | Orbiter | planned | [79] |
![]() | 2028 | Rover | under development | |
![]() | 2028 | Orbiter, lander, rover, aircraft | planned | [80] |
Mission | Organisation | Proposed launch | Type |
---|---|---|---|
First Commercial Mission to Mars | ![]() | 2026 | Lander [81] |
SpaceX Uncrewed Landing | ![]() | 2026 | Uncrewed lander [82] (SpaceX Mars colonization program) |
SpaceX First Crewed Landing | ![]() | 2028/2029 | Crewed lander [83] |
NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return | ![]() ![]() | NET 2030 [84] [85] | Orbiter/Lander/Return vehicle |
Large Inflatable Fabric Environment | ![]() | TBD | Orbital habitat in Low Mars Orbit (LMO) [86] |
International Mars Ice Mapper Mission | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | 2030s [88] | Orbiter |
Fobos-Grunt 2 and Mars-Grunt | ![]() | 2030s [89] | Orbiter, lander, ascent vehicle, sample-return |
MAGGIE | ![]() | Aircraft | |
M-MATISSE | ![]() | Two orbiters [90] |
Mars 3 was the first spacecraft to make a successful soft landing on Mars.
The Mars 2 and 3 rover, which landed on Mars in 1971.
It was the first spacecraft to enter orbit around another world.
China's Tianwen-1 probe lands on
The picture of the "touring group photo" shows the rover traveling about 10 meters south of the landing platform, releasing the separate camera installed at the bottom of the vehicle, and then retreating to the vicinity of the landing platform.
A technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars.