mission possible
Russia/U.S.S.R.
U.S.
Japan
U.K./ESA member states
KORABL 4
s) date
KORABL 11
unch
India
LAUNCH
KORABL 5
s (La 1960
Russia/China
MARS 1 KORABL 13
The first U.S. spacecraft to Mars mysteriously lost power eight hours after launch
EARTH ORBIT
MISSION POSSIBLE About half of all Mars missions have succeeded. Here’s a complete history, up to the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter FAILURE
SUCCESS
MARINER 3
Flyby
MARINER 4
Orbiter
Lander
ZOND 2
MARINER 6 IN TRANSIT
MARS 1969A
MARINER 7
KOSMOS 419
MARS 2 ORBITER/LAND E
R MARS 3 ORBITER/LANDE R MARINER 9
MARS ORBIT
The first successful Mars surface exploration found all elements essential to life
MARS 4
MARS 5 MARS 6 FLYBY/LANDER MARS 7 FLYBY/LANDER
The first man-made object to land on Mars. But contact was lost 20 seconds after touchdown
MARS
MARINER 8
1970s
EARTH
MARS 1969B
VIKING 1 ORBITER/LANDER
1980s
VIKING 2 ORBITER/LANDER PHOBOS 1 ORBITER/LANDER PHOBOS 2 ORBITER/LANDER
Pathfinder’s Sojourner was the first wheeled vehicle deployed on another planet
MARS OBSERVER
MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR
1990s
MARS 96 ORBITER/LANDER MARS PATHFINDER
NOZOMI MARS CLIMATE ORBITER
2000 s
DEEP SPACE 2 PROBES/MARS POLAR LAN
MARS ODYSSEY 2 LANDER MARS EXPRESS ORBITER/BEAGLE RI T MARS EXPLORATION ROVER–SPI PPORTUNITY MARS EXPLORATION ROVER–O I TE R MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORB PHOENIX MARS LANDER
201 0s
ONGOING
DER
PHOBOS-GRUNT/YINGHUO-1 SITY MARS SCIENCE LAB/CURIO MARS ORBITER MISSION
MAVEN
ONGOING
ONGOING
The Phoenix lander first confirmed the presence of water in soil samples
ONGOING ONGOING
ONGOING ONGOING
Curiosity descended on the first “sky crane,” a highly precise landing system for large vehicles
DID YOU KNOW? The early missions had up to seven different names. For instance, Korabl 4 also went by Marsnik 1 and Mars 1960A.
SOURCE: NASA
U.S.
Japan
U.K./ESA member states
KORABL 4
s) date
KORABL 11
unch
India
LAUNCH
KORABL 5
s (La 1960
Russia/China
MARS 1 KORABL 13
The first U.S. spacecraft to Mars mysteriously lost power eight hours after launch
EARTH ORBIT
MISSION POSSIBLE About half of all Mars missions have succeeded. Here’s a complete history, up to the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter FAILURE
SUCCESS
MARINER 3
Flyby
MARINER 4
Orbiter
Lander
ZOND 2
MARINER 6 IN TRANSIT
MARS 1969A
MARINER 7
KOSMOS 419
MARS 2 ORBITER/LAND E
R MARS 3 ORBITER/LANDE R MARINER 9
MARS ORBIT
The first successful Mars surface exploration found all elements essential to life
MARS 4
MARS 5 MARS 6 FLYBY/LANDER MARS 7 FLYBY/LANDER
The first man-made object to land on Mars. But contact was lost 20 seconds after touchdown
MARS
MARINER 8
1970s
EARTH
MARS 1969B
VIKING 1 ORBITER/LANDER
1980s
VIKING 2 ORBITER/LANDER PHOBOS 1 ORBITER/LANDER PHOBOS 2 ORBITER/LANDER
Pathfinder’s Sojourner was the first wheeled vehicle deployed on another planet
MARS OBSERVER
MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR
1990s
MARS 96 ORBITER/LANDER MARS PATHFINDER
NOZOMI MARS CLIMATE ORBITER
2000 s
DEEP SPACE 2 PROBES/MARS POLAR LAN
MARS ODYSSEY 2 LANDER MARS EXPRESS ORBITER/BEAGLE RI T MARS EXPLORATION ROVER–SPI PPORTUNITY MARS EXPLORATION ROVER–O I TE R MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORB PHOENIX MARS LANDER
201 0s
ONGOING
DER
PHOBOS-GRUNT/YINGHUO-1 SITY MARS SCIENCE LAB/CURIO MARS ORBITER MISSION
MAVEN
ONGOING
ONGOING
The Phoenix lander first confirmed the presence of water in soil samples
ONGOING ONGOING
ONGOING ONGOING
Curiosity descended on the first “sky crane,” a highly precise landing system for large vehicles
DID YOU KNOW? The early missions had up to seven different names. For instance, Korabl 4 also went by Marsnik 1 and Mars 1960A.
SOURCE: NASA
