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Mars Missions
Mars is a great target for scientific research. There have been and continue to be some fascinating missions to the Red Planet.Past:
- Mariner 3
Mars photography mission. - Mariner 4
1st spacecraft to get a close look at Mars. - Mariner 6
Mariners 6 and 7 - identical teammates in a two-spacecraft mission to Mars. - Mariner 7
Between them, they transmitted a total of 143 pictures of Mars as they approached and 55 close-up pictures as they flew past the equator and southern hemisphere. - Mariner 8
The overall goals of the series were to search for an environment that could support life. - Mariner 9
Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. - Viking 1
Another twin spacecraft mission, consisting of Viking 1 and Viking 2, launched within a couple of weeks of each other. Viking 1 snapped the infamous "Face on Mars" image. - Viking 2
The Viking missions revealed further details of volcanoes, lava plains, huge canyons, and the effects of wind and water. - Fobos 1
Due to a programming error, the spacecraft flew past Mars without activating its science instruments or deploying its lander. - Mars Observer
Mars Observer, the first of the Observer series of planetary missions, was designed to study the geoscience and climate of Mars. - Mars Pathfinder
Mars Pathfinder was an ambitious mission to send a lander and a separate, remote-controlled rover to the surface of Mars and demonstrated a number of innovative, economical, and highly effective approaches to spacecraft and mission design of a planetary landing mission. - Nozomi
Intended to be Japan's first Mars orbiter, Nozomi was Japan's fourth "deep space" probe. - Mars Climate Orbiter
Mars Climate Orbiter was designed to function as an interplanetary weather satellite and a communications relay for Mars Polar Lander. - Mars Polar Lander
The last telemetry from Mars Polar Lander was sent just prior to atmospheric entry on 3 December 1999. It was never heard from again. - Deep Space 2 The deep Space 2 probes were lost with the Mars Polar Lander.
- Beagle 2
Beagle 2 was declared lost after no communications were received following the scheduled landing on Mars. - Spirit
The "Spirit" rover (Mars Exploration Rover A) is one of the two rovers launched to Mars in mid-2003. - Opportunity
Opportunity (Mars Exploration Rover B) found the strongest evidence yet that liquid water once existed on the surface of Mars.
- Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Global Surveyor was the first successful mission to the Red Planet in two decades. - Mars 2001 Odyssey
The 2001 Mars Odyssey is the remaining part of the Mars Surveyor 2001 Project, which originally consisted of two separately launched missions. - Mars Express
Mars Express is the European Space Agency's first visit to another planet. - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is designed to orbit Mars over a full martian year and gather data with six scientific instruments, including a high-resolution imager. - Phoenix
Phoenix is truly a mission risen from the ashes.
- Mars Science Laboratory
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover will find out if the surface of Mars is -- or ever consisted of -- an environment able to support microscopic life. - Mars Orbiter
This mission is still under development. - Mars Scout 2
This next generation Mars Scout could take one of many forms - an airplane, balloon or small lander. - Mars Sample Return Lander
Current plans call for the first sample return mission to be launched in 2014. - Mars Astrobiology Field Lab Rover (AFL)
The mission will perform mutually confirming tests and measurements of biosignatures for past and present habitation. - Mars Scout 3
Scout missions are designed by the science community and will be shaped by discoveries of the current fleet of Mars spacecraft. - Mars Planetary Evolution and Meteorology (Multi-Lander) Network
Tentatively scheduled for a 2020 launch, this mission is still under development.