List of missions to Mars

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List of missions to Mars

This is a list of spacecraft missions (including unsuccessful ones) to the planet Mars, such as orbiters, landers, and rovers.

Missions

Summarize
Perspective
Mission Type Legend
  Mission to Mars
  Gravity assist, destination elsewhere
More information Mission, Spacecraft ...
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Landing locations

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Mars landing sites (16 December 2020)

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]

Timeline

Zhurong (rover)Tianwen-1Ingenuity (helicopter)Perseverance (rover)InSightCuriosity (rover)Phoenix (spacecraft)Opportunity (rover)Spirit (rover)Sojourner (rover)Mars PathfinderViking 2Viking 1PrOP-MMars 3

Missions to the moons of Mars

Summarize
Perspective
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Phobos' Stickney Crater
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Deimos (lower left) and Phobos (lower right) compared with the asteroid 951 Gaspra
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Phobos by Mars Global Surveyor in 1998[49]

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.

Past missions

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.

More information Launched mission, Target ...
Launched missionTargetReference
Phobos 1Phobos
Phobos 2Phobos
Fobos-GruntPhobos
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Planned missions

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]

More information Planned mission, Target ...
Planned missionTargetReference
Martian Moons eXploration (MMX)Phobos and Deimos[52]
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Past proposals

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]

More information Proposal, Target ...
ProposalTargetReference
AladdinPhobos and Deimos[62]
DePhinePhobos and Deimos[63]
DSRDeimos[64]
GulliverDeimos[65]
HallPhobos and Deimos[66]
M-PADSPhobos and Deimos[67]
MerlinPhobos and Deimos[68]
MMSR (2011 ver.)Phobos or Deimos[57]
OSIRIS-REx 2Phobos or Deimos[59]
PandoraPhobos and Deimos[56]
PCROSSPhobos[69]
Phobos SurveyorPhobos[70]
PRIMEPhobos[71]
Fobos-Grunt 2Phobos[72]
PhootprintPhobos[73][74]
PADMEPhobos and Deimos[75][76]
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Statistics

Summary

More information Decade, 1960s ...
Launches to Mars
Decade
    1960s
    12
    1970s
    11
    1980s
    2
    1990s
    7
    2000s
    8
    2010s
    6
    2020s
    4
    Close

    Mission milestone by country

    Legend

      Achieved
      Failed attempt
    † First to achieve

    More information Country/Agency, Flyby ...
    Mars missions
    Country/Agency Flyby Orbit Impact Lander Rover Powered flight Sample return Crewed Landing
    United States United States Mariner 4, 1965 Mariner 9, 1971 Mars Polar Lander, 1999 Viking 1, 1976 Sojourner, 1997 Ingenuity, 2021
    China China Tianwen-1, 2021 Tianwen-1, 2021 Tianwen-1, 2021 Zhurong, 2021
    Soviet Union Soviet Union Mars 2, 1971 Mars 2, 1971 Mars 2 Lander, 1971 † Mars 3, 1971 PrOP-M, 1971
    ESA Mars Express, 2003 Mars Express, 2003 Schiaparelli EDM, 2016 Schiaparelli EDM, 2016
    United Kingdom United Kingdom Beagle 2, 2003 Beagle 2, 2003 Beagle 2, 2003[a]
    Russia Russia TGO, 2016 TGO, 2016 Mars 96, 1996 Mars 96, 1996
    India India MOM, 2014 MOM, 2014
    United Arab Emirates UAE Hope, 2021 Hope, 2021
    Japan Japan Nozomi, 1998 Nozomi, 1998
    Close
    More information Country/Agency, Impact ...
    Phobos missions
    Country/Agency Impact Lander Rover Sample return
    Soviet Union Soviet Union Phobos 1, 1988 Phobos 1, 1988 Phobos 1, 1988
    Russia Russia Fobos-Grunt, 2011 Fobos-Grunt, 2011 Fobos-Grunt, 2011
    Close

    Missions by organization/company

    More information Country, Agency or company ...
    Country Agency or company Successful Partial failure Failure Operational Gravity assist Total
     United States NASA 13 - 5 4 1 23
    Soviet Union Soviet Union Energia 1 6 10 - - 17
    Russia Russia Roscosmos - 1 2 - - 3
    ESA ESA - 2 - - 1 3
     China CNSA 1 - 1 1 - 2
     India ISRO 1 - - - - 1
     United Arab Emirates UAESA 1 - - 1 - 1
     Japan ISAS - - 1 - - 1
     United Kingdom NSC - - 1 - - 1
    Close

    Future missions

    Under development

    More information Name, Proposed launch date ...
    Name Proposed
    launch date
    Type Status Reference
    United States EscaPADE NET Spring 2025 Two orbiters under development [77]
    JapanGermany Martian Moons eXploration 2026 Phobos sample return mission under development [55]
    China Tianwen-3 2028 Mars sample return mission planned [78]
    Japan TEREX Mid 2020s Orbiter planned [79]
    Rosalind Franklin 2028 Rover under development
    India Mars Lander Mission 2028 Orbiter, lander, rover, aircraft planned [80]
    Close

    Proposed missions

    More information Mission, Organisation ...
    Close

    Unrealized concepts

    1970s

    • Mars 4NM and Mars 5NM – projects intended by the Soviet Union for heavy Marsokhod (in 1973 according to initial plan of 1970) and Mars sample return (planned for 1975). The missions were to be launched on the failed N1 rocket.[91]
    • Mars 5M (Mars-79) – double-launching Soviet sample return mission planned to 1979 but cancelled due to complexity and technical problems
    • Voyager-Mars – USA, 1970s – Two orbiters and two landers, launched by a single Saturn V rocket.

    1990s

    • Vesta – the multiaimed Soviet mission, developed in cooperation with European countries for realisation in 1991–1994 but canceled due to the Soviet Union disbanding, included the flyby of Mars with delivering the aerostat and small landers or penetrators followed by flybys of 1 Ceres or 4 Vesta and some other asteroids with impact of penetrator on the one of them.
    • Mars Aerostat – Russian/French balloon part for cancelled Vesta mission and then for failed Mars 96 mission,[92] originally planned for the 1992 launch window, postponed to 1994 and then to 1996 before being cancelled.[93]
    • Mars Together, combined U.S. and Russian mission study in the 1990s. To be launched by a Molniya with possible U.S. orbiter or lander.[94][95]
    • Mars Environmental Survey – set of 16 landers planned for 1999–2009
    • Mars-98 – Russian mission including an orbiter, lander, and rover, planned for 1998 launch opportunity as repeat of failed Mars 96 mission; cancelled due to lack of funding.[96]

    2000s

    • Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander – October 2001 – Mars lander (refurbished, became Phoenix lander)
    • Kitty Hawk – Mars airplane micromission, proposed for 17 December 2003, the centennial of the Wright brothers' first flight.[97] Its funding was eventually given to the 2003 Mars Network project.[98]
    • NetLander – 2007 or 2009 – Mars netlanders
    • Beagle 3 – 2009 British lander mission meant to search for life, past or present.[clarification needed]
    • Mars Telecommunications Orbiter – September 2009 – Mars orbiter for telecommunications

    2010s-2020s

    • Mars One - announced in 2012, planned to land a demo lander on Mars by 2016, with a crewed landing to follow by 2023. These dates were delayed multiple times, and the project was eventually cancelled, with the company going bankrupt in 2019
    • Sky-Sailor – 2014 – Plane developed by Switzerland to take detailed pictures of Mars surface
    • Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher – 2018 rover concept, cancelled due to budget cuts in 2011. Sample cache goal later moved to Mars 2020 rover.[99]
    • Red Dragon – Derivative of a Dragon 2 capsule by SpaceX, designed to land by aerobraking and retropropulsion. Planned for 2018, then 2020. Canceled in favor of the Starship system.
    • Tumbleweed rover, wind-propelled sphere[100]
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    NASA missions to Mars (28 September 2021)
    (Perseverance rover/Ingenuity Mars Helicopter; InSight lander; Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter; Odyssey orbiter; Curiosity rover; MAVEN orbiter)

    See also

    Notes

    1. While Beagle 2 had landed intact, it failed to establish communication.

    References

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