List of missions to Mars
Mars and its moons have been a target for many spacecraft, with flyby, orbiter, lander and rover missions visiting the planet.[1][2] In addition, two spacecraft, Rosetta and Dawn, have made flybys to get gravity assists for other missions; the former en route to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, and the latter en route to asteroid 4 Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres. Three missions were dedicated to Phobos, but they did not achieve their goals.
Missions
Spacecraft | Launch date[1] | Operator | Mission[1] | Outcome[1] | Remarks | Carrier rocket[2] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1M No.1 | 10 October 1960 | OKB-1 Soviet Union |
Flyby | 0Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Molniya |
1M No.2 | 14 October 1960 | OKB-1 Soviet Union |
Flyby | 0Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Molniya |
2MV-4 No.1 | 24 October 1962 | Soviet Union | Flyby | 0Launch failure | Booster stage ("Block L") disintegrated in LEO | Molniya |
Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) |
1 November 1962 | Soviet Union | Flyby | 1Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before flyby | Molniya |
2MV-3 No.1 | 4 November 1962 | Soviet Union | Lander | 0Launch failure | Never left LEO | Molniya |
Mariner 3 | 5 November 1964 | NASA United States |
Flyby | 0Launch failure | Payload fairing failed to separate | Atlas LV-3 Agena-D |
Mariner 4 | 28 November 1964 | NASA United States |
Flyby | 4Successful | Closest approach at 01:00:57 UTC on 15 July 1965 | Atlas LV-3 Agena-D |
Zond 2 (3MV-4A No.2) |
30 November 1964 | Soviet Union | Flyby | 1Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before flyby | Molniya |
Mariner 6 | 25 February 1969 | NASA United States |
Flyby | 4Successful | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | |
2M No.521 | 27 March 19691 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | 0Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Proton-K/D |
Mariner 7 | 27 March 19692 | NASA United States |
Flyby | 4Successful | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | |
2M No.522 | 2 April 1969 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | 0Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Proton-K/D |
Mariner 8 | 9 May 19712 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 0Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D |
Kosmos 419 (3MS No.170) |
10 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | 0Launch failure | Never left LEO; booster stage burn timer set incorrectly | Proton-K/D |
Mariner 9 | 30 May 1971 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 4Successful[3] | Entered orbit on 14 November 1971, deactivated 516 days after entering orbit | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D |
Mars 2 (4M No.171) |
19 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | 3Mostly successful | Entered orbit 27 November 1971, operated for 362 orbits. Mapping operations unsuccessful due to dust storms on the surface[4] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 2 lander (SA 4M No.171) |
19 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Lander | 1Spacecraft failure | Deployed from Mars 2, failed to land during attempt on 27 November 1971 | Proton-K/D |
Mars 3 (4M No.172) |
28 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | 3Mostly successful | Entered orbit 2 December 1971, operated for 20 orbits.[5] Mapping operations unsuccessful due to dust storms on the surface[6] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 3 lander (SA 4M No.172) |
28 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Lander | 2Partial failure | Deployed from Mars 3; landed at 13:52 UTC on 2 December 1971; contact lost 14.5 seconds after transmission start | Proton-K/D |
Prop-M Rover rover (SA 4M No.172) |
28 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Rover | 1Spacecraft failure | Failed to deploy | Proton-K/D |
Mars 4 (3MS No.52S) |
21 July 1973 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | 1Spacecraft failure | Failed to perform orbital insertion burn | Proton-K/D |
Mars 5 (3MS No.53S) |
25 July 1973 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | 2Partial failure | Failed after 9 days in Mars orbit; returned 180 frames | Proton-K/D |
Mars 6 (3MP No.50P) |
5 August 1973 | Soviet Union | Lander Flyby |
1Spacecraft failure | Contact lost upon landing, atmospheric data mostly unreadable. Flyby bus collected data.[7] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 7 (3MP No.51P) |
9 August 1973 | Soviet Union | Lander Flyby |
1Spacecraft failure | Separated from coast stage prematurely, failed to enter Martian atmosphere | Proton-K/D |
Viking 1 orbiter | 20 August 1975 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 4Successful | Operated for 1385 orbits | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Viking 1 lander | 20 August 1975 | NASA United States |
Lander | 4Successful | Deployed from Viking 1 orbiter, operated for 2245 sols | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Viking 2 orbiter | 9 September 1975 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 4Successful | Operated for 700 orbits | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Viking 2 lander | 9 September 1975 | NASA United States |
Lander | 4Successful | Deployed from Viking 2 orbiter, operated for 1281 sols | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Fobos 1 (1F No.101) |
7 July 1988 | Soviet Union | Orbiter Phobos lander |
1Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before reaching Mars; failed to enter orbit | Proton-K/D-2 |
Fobos 2 (1F No.102) |
12 July 1988 | Soviet Union | Orbiter Phobos lander |
2Partial failure | Orbital observations successful, communications lost before landing | Proton-K/D-2 |
Mars Observer | 25 September 1992 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 1Spacecraft failure | Lost communications before orbital insertion | Commercial Titan III |
Mars Global Surveyor | 7 November 1996 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 4Successful | Operated for seven years | Delta II 7925 |
Mars 96 (M1 No.520) |
16 November 1996 | Rosaviakosmos Russia |
Orbiter Penetrators |
0Launch failure | Never left LEO | Proton-K/D-2 |
Mars Pathfinder | 4 December 1996 | NASA United States |
Lander | 4Successful | Landed at 19.13°N 33.22°W on 4 July 1997[8] | Delta II 7925 |
Sojourner | 4 December 1996 | NASA United States |
Rover | 4Successful | Operated for 84 days[9] | Delta II 7925 |
Nozomi (PLANET-B) |
3 July 1998 | ISAS Japan |
Orbiter | 1Spacecraft failure | Ran out of fuel before reaching Mars | M-V |
Mars Climate Orbiter | 11 December 1998 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 1Spacecraft failure | Approached Mars too closely during orbit insertion attempt due to unit conversion error and burned up in the atmosphere | Delta II 7425 |
Mars Polar Lander | 3 January 1999 | NASA United States |
Lander | 1Spacecraft failure | Failed to land | Delta II 7425 |
Deep Space 2 | 3 January 1999 | NASA United States |
Penetrator | 1Spacecraft failure | Deployed from MPL, no data returned | Delta II 7425 |
Mars Odyssey | 7 April 2001 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 5Operational | Expected to remain operational until 2025. | Delta II 7925 |
Mars Express | 2 June 2003 | ESA Europe |
Orbiter | 5Operational | Enough fuel to remain operational until 2026. | Soyuz-FG/Fregat |
Beagle 2 | 2 June 2003 | ESA Europe |
Lander | 1Lander failure | Deployed from Mars Express. Successful landing, but two solar panels failed to deploy, obstructing its communications. | Soyuz-FG/Fregat |
Spirit (MER-A) |
10 June 2003 | NASA United States |
Lander/RoverRover | 4Successful | operated for 2208 sols | Delta II 7925 |
Opportunity (MER-B) |
8 July 2003 | NASA United States |
Lander/RoverRover | 5Operational | Delta II 7925H | |
Rosetta | 2 March 2004 | ESA Europe |
Gravity assist | 4Successful | Flyby in February 2007 en route to 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko[10] | Ariane 5G+ |
MRO | 12 August 2005 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 5Operational | Atlas V 401 | |
Phoenix | 4 August 2007 | NASA United States |
Lander | 4Successful | Delta II 7925 | |
Dawn | 27 September 2007 | NASA United States |
Gravity assist | 4Successful | Flyby in February 2009 en route to 4 Vesta and Ceres | Delta II 7925H |
Fobos-Grunt | 8 November 2011 | Roskosmos Russia |
Orbiter Phobos sample |
1Spacecraft failure | Never left LEO (intended to depart under own power) | Zenit-2M |
Yinghuo-1 | 8 November 2011 | CNSA PR China |
Orbiter | 1Failure Lost with Fobos-Grunt |
To have been deployed by Fobos-Grunt | Zenit-2M |
Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) |
26 November 2011 | NASA United States |
Lander/RoverRover | 5Operational | Atlas V 541 | |
Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) |
5 November 2013 | ISRO India |
Orbiter | 5Operational | Entered Mars orbit on 24 September 2014. Mission extended by six months.[11][12] | PSLV-XL |
MAVEN | 18 November 2013 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | 5Operational | Orbit insertion on September 22, 2014[13] | Atlas V 401 |
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter | 14 March 2016 | ESA/Roscosmos Europe/Russia |
Orbiter | 5Operational | Proton-M/Briz-M | |
Schiaparelli EDM lander | 14 March 2016 | ESA Europe |
Lander | 1Partial failure | Carried by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Lander crashed, but test declared successful.[14]<ref name'successful'>Wall, Mike (21 October 2016). "ExoMars '96 Percent' Successful Despite Lander Crash: ESA". Space.com. Retrieved 2016-10-21.</ref> | Proton-M/Briz-M |
Locations of selected Mars landers and rovers

There is 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 Mars Recon. Orbiter.[15] There should be 8 derelict Mars orbiters barring unforeseen events if they have not decayed as of 2016.[16] 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.[17] The Viking 1 orbiter is predicted not to decay until at least 2019.[18] One orbiter that is confirmed to have undergone Mars atmospheric entry is Mars Climate Orbiter
(see also List of Mars orbiters)
Future missions
In development
Mission | Launch | Notes | Country or Space Agency |
---|---|---|---|
InSight | May 5, 2018 [19][20] | Lander | ![]() |
Red Dragon | 2018[21] | Lander | ![]() |
Mangalyaan 2[22] | 2020 | Orbiter. Optional: lander, rover. |
![]() |
Emirates Mars Mission | July 2020[23][24][25] | Orbiter[23] | ![]() |
Mars 2020 | July 2020 | Rover | ![]() |
ExoMars 2020 | July 2020 [26] | Lander, Rover | ![]() |
2020 Chinese Mars Mission | 2020 | Orbiter, lander, rover | ![]() |
Proposals
Mission | Launch | Notes | Country or Space Agency |
---|---|---|---|
NASA 2022 orbiter | 2022 | Telecomm orbiter[27] | ![]() |
2024 | Crewed mission to Mars | ![]() | |
Mars One | 2026 [28] | Orbiter, lander, rover, Human Colony | ![]() |
Mars to Stay | Settlement | ![]() | |
2040-2060 | Crewed phase of the Chinese Mars exploration program[29] | ![]() | |
2040-2045 | Crewed phase of the Russian Mars exploration program[30] | ![]() |
Missions to the moons of Mars



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.[32] 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.[33]
In Japan, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) is assessing a sample return mission to Phobos.[34][35] This mission is called MMX (Martian Moons Explorer)[36] and is proposed as a flagship Strategic Large Mission.[37] If funded, MMX will build on the expertise the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) would gain through the Hayabusa 2 and SLIM missions.[38] As of January 2016, MMX is under review by JAXA, and is proposed to be launched in 2022.[35][39]
Proposal | Target | Reference |
---|---|---|
Aladdin | Phobos and Deimos | [40] |
DSR | Deimos | [41] |
Gulliver | Deimos | [42] |
Hall | Phobos and Deimos | [43] |
M-PADS | Phobos and Deimos | [44] |
Merlin | Phobos and Deimos | [45] |
MMSR (2011 ver.) | Phobos or Deimos | [33] |
OSRIS-REx 2 | Phobos or Deimos | [46] |
Pandora | Phobos and Deimos | [32] |
PCROSS | Phobos | [47] |
Phobos Surveyor | Phobos | [48] |
PRIME | Phobos | [49] |
Fobos-Grunt 2 | Phobos | [50] |
Phootprint | Phobos | [51][52] |
PADME | Phobos and Deimos | [53][54] |
Martian Moons Explorer (MMX) | Phobos | [36] |
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.[55] In 2012, it was stated that this mission would be the both quickest and least expensive way to get samples from the Moons.[56]
The 'Red Rocks Project', a part of Lockheed Martin's "Stepping stones to Mars" program, proposed to explore Mars robotically from Deimos.[57][58]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 Chronology of Mars Exploration. NASA. Retrieved on 2011-12-01.
- 1 2 Russian Space Web - Mars Missions
- ↑ Pyle, Rod (2012). Destination Mars. Prometheus Books. pp. 73–78. ISBN 978-1-61614-589-7.
It was the first spacecraft to enter orbit around another world.
- ↑ "Missions to Mars". The Planetary Society.
- ↑ Perminov, V.G. (July 1999). The Difficult Road to Mars - A Brief History of Mars Exploration in the Soviet Union (PDF). NASA Headquarters History Division. pp. 34–60. ISBN 0-16-058859-6.
- ↑ Webster, Guy (April 11, 2013). "NASA Mars Orbiter Images May Show 1971 Soviet Lander". NASA. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
- ↑ NSSDC - Mars 6
- ↑ "Mars Pathfinder Science Results". NASA.
- ↑ Mars Pathfinder - Welcome to Mars - Sol 86
- ↑ "ESA - Beautiful new images from Rosetta's approach to Mars: OSIRIS UPDATE". Esa.int. 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
- ↑ "The first image sent from Mars Orbiter.". ISRO.
- ↑ "Mangalyaan Completes 6 Months in Martian Orbit, Could Last Much Longer". NDTV. 24 March 2015.
- ↑ Brown, Dwayne; Neal-Jones, Nancy; Zubritsky, Elizabeth (September 21, 2014). "NASA's Newest Mars Mission Spacecraft Enters Orbit around Red Planet". NASA. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
- ↑ Chan, Sewell (20 October 2016). "No Signal From Mars Lander, but European Officials Declare Mission a Success". New York Times. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ↑ M. Adler, et al. – Use of MRO Optical Navigation Camera .. (2012)
- ↑
- ↑ NASA - This Month in NASA History: Mariner 9, November 29, 2011 – Vol. 4, Issue 9 Archived May 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑
- ↑ Clark, Stephen (9 March 2016). "InSight Mars lander escapes cancellation, aims for 2018 launch". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ↑ Chang, Kenneth (9 March 2016). "NASA Reschedules Mars InSight Mission for May 2018". New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ↑ Cowing, Keith (28 April 2016). "SpaceX Will Start Going to Mars in 2018". SpaceRef. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
- ↑ "India plans second Mars mission in 2018". CNN IBN. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
- 1 2 Clark, Stephen (8 May 2015). "UAE details ambitious plan for Martian weather satellite". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ↑ "Emirates Mars Mission". iCresRise Magazine. January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ Emirates Mars Mission. Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). 5 May 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ "Second ExoMars mission moves to next launch opportunity in 2020" (Press release). ESA. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ↑ Stephen, Clark (March 3, 2015). "NASA eyes ion engines for Mars orbiter launching in 2022". Space Flight Now. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
- ↑ http://www.mars-one.com/about-mars-one
- ↑ 中国嫦娥探月工程进展顺利 进度将有望加快-军事频道-中华网-中国最大职业人士门户
- ↑ Пилотируемый полет на Марс будет возможен после 2040 года - Роскосмос. versii.com (in Russian). Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ↑
- 1 2 MERLIN: The Creative Choices Behind a Proposal to Explore the Martian Moons (Merlin and PADME info also)
- 1 2 MMSR - a study for a Martian Moon Sample Return mission
- ↑ "Introduction to JAXA's Exploration of the Two Moons of Mars, with Sample Return from Phobos" (PDF). Phobos/Deimos Sample Return Mission Study Team. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
- 1 2 "JAXA、火星衛星「フォボス」探査…22年に". The Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). January 4, 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
- 1 2 "ISASニュース 2016.1 No.418" (PDF) (in Japanese). Institute of Space and Astronautical Science. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
- ↑ "宇宙科学・探査分野 工程表取り組み状況について その3" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
- ↑ Torishima, Shinya (June 19, 2015). "JAXAの「火星の衛星からのサンプル・リターン」計画とは". Mynavi News (in Japanese). Retrieved 2015-10-06.
- ↑ JAXA plans probe to bring back samples from moons of Mars
- ↑ C. Pieters, et al. - Aladdin: Phobos-Deimos Sample Return
- ↑ Small Body Sample Return to Deimos
- ↑ Dr. Britt - The Gulliver Mission: Sample Return from Deimos
- ↑ P. Lee, et al. - Hall: A Phobos and Deimos Sample Return Mission
- ↑ Mars Phobos and Deimos Survey (M-PADS)–A Martian Moons Orbiter and Phobos Lander (Ball, Andrew J.; Price, Michael E.; Walker, Roger J.; Dando, Glyn C.; Wells, Nigel S. and Zarnecki, John C. (2009). Mars Phobos and Deimos Survey (M-PADS)–A Martian Moons Orbiter and Phobos Lander. Advances in Space Research, 43(1), pp. 120–127.)
- ↑ MERLIN: MARS-MOON EXPLORATION, RECONNAISSANCE AND LANDED INVESTIGATION
- ↑ Elifritz, T. L. - OSIRIS-REx II to Mars
- ↑ Colaprete, A, et al. - PCROSS — Phobos Close Rendevous(sic) Observation Sensing Satellite
- ↑ Phobos Surveyor - Space Safety Magazine
- ↑ PRIME
- ↑ SSM - Phobos-Grunt 2 Bound for Launch in 2020, Russians Confirmed While Celebrating Sputnik
- ↑ Barraclough, Simon; Ratcliffe, Andrew; Buchwald, Robert; Scheer, Heloise; Chapuy, Marc; Garland, Martin (June 16, 2014). Phootprint: A European Phobos Sample Return Mission (PDF). 11th International Planetary Probe Workshop. Airbus Defense and Space.
- ↑ Koschny, Detlef; Svedhem, Håkan; Rebuffat, Denis (August 2, 2014). "Phootprint - A Phobos sample return mission study". ESA. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
- ↑ Lee, Pascal; Bicay, Michael; Colapre, Anthony; Elphic, Richard (March 17–21, 2014). Phobos And Deimos & Mars Environment (PADME): A LADEE-Derived Mission to Explore Mars's Moons and the Martian Orbital Environment. (PDF). 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2014).
- ↑ Reyes, Tim (1 October 2014). "Making the Case for a Mission to the Martian Moon Phobos". Universe Today. Retrieved 2014-10-05.
- ↑ OSIRIS-REx II to Mars - Mars Sample Return from Phobos and Deimos
- ↑ Elifritz, T. L. - OSIRIS-REx II to Mars — Mars Sample Return from Phobos and Deimos (2012)
- ↑ Larry Page Deep Space Exploration - Stepping Stones builds up to "Red Rocks : Explore Mars from Deimos"
- ↑ One Possible Small Step Toward Mars Landing: A Martian Moon