Mars 4 [SEP] time of spacecraft launch
[{"answer": "21 July 1973", "provenance": [{"wikipedia_id": "101442", "title": "Mars 4", "start_paragraph_id": 6, "start_character": 116, "end_paragraph_id": 6, "end_character": 347, "bleu_score": 1.0, "meta": {}, "section": "Section::::Launch.\n"}]}]
Solar electric propulsion


Solar electric propulsion (SEP) typically refers to the combination of solar cells and an ion drive to propel a spacecraft through outer space. This technology has been exploited in a variety of spacecraft by the European Space Agency, the Japanese Space Agency, Indian Space Research Organisation and NASA. SEP is valued for its potential for a high specific impulse, thus allowing less mass for propellant to be launched with a spacecraft and it has been evaluated for mission to Mars. Solar electric propulsion combines solar panels on spacecraft and ion thrusters,
19663908
Mars 2MV-4 No.1


Mars 2MV-4 No.1 also known as Sputnik 22 in the West, was a Soviet spacecraft, which was launched in 1962 as part of the Mars programme, and was intended to make a flyby of Mars, and transmit images of the planet back to Earth. Due to a problem with the rocket which launched it, it was destroyed in low Earth orbit. It was the first of two Mars 2MV-4 spacecraft to be launched, the other being the Mars 1 spacecraft which was launched eight days later. With the Cuban Missile Crisis
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Mars program


"Marsnik" by the Western media. Mars 1 was launched in 1962 but failed en route to Mars. Two other Soviet launches at around the same time, Mars 2MV-4 No.1 and Mars 2MV-3 No.1 were spacecraft, however both failed to leave Earth orbit due to problems with the upper stages of their carrier rockets. Mars 2M No.521 and Mars 2M No.522, known in the West as Mars 1969A and B, were heavier spacecraft with masses of . They were launched by Proton-K rockets, and consisted of orbiters
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Mars program


the American Mariner 8 and Mariner 9 spacecraft. The Mars 4 and Mars 5 orbiters, launched in 1973, were designed to orbit Mars and return information on the composition, structure, and properties of the Martian atmosphere and surface. The spacecraft were also designed to act as communications links to the Mars 6 and 7 landers. Like earlier heavy spacecraft, they were launched by Proton-K rockets. The Mars 4 orbiter reached Mars on February 10, 1974. Due to a flaw in the transistor 2Т-312 which resulted in its
3506648
Mars 4


Mars 4 (), also known as 3MS No.52S was a Soviet spacecraft intended to explore Mars. A 3MS spacecraft launched as part of the Mars programme, it was intended to enter orbit around Mars in 1974. However, computer problems prevented orbital insertion from occurring. The Mars 4 spacecraft carried an array of instruments to study Mars. In addition to cameras, it was equipped with a radio telescope, an IR radiometer, multiple photometers, polarimeters, a magnetometer, plasma traps, an electrostatic analyzer, a gamma-ray
13443370
Mars 2MV-3 No.1


Mars 2MV-3 No.1 also known as Sputnik 24 in the West, was a Soviet spacecraft, which was launched in 1962 as part of the Mars program, and was intended to land on the surface of Mars. Due to a problem with the rocket which launched it, it did not depart low Earth orbit, and it decayed several days later. It was the only Mars 2MV-3 spacecraft to be launched. The spacecraft was launched at 15:35:15 UTC on 4 November 1962, atop a Molniya 8K78 carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at
4297990
Mars 4


spectrometer, and a radio probe. Built by Lavochkin, Mars 4 was the first of two 3MS spacecraft launched to Mars in 1973, being followed by Mars 5. A 3MS was also launched during the 1971 launch window as Kosmos 419. However, due to a launch failure, it failed to depart Earth orbit. In addition to the orbiters, two 3MP lander missions, Mars 6 and Mars 7, were launched during the 1973 window. Mars 4 was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket, a Blok D
13443371
Kosmos 96


Kosmos 96 ( meaning "Cosmos 96"), or 3MV-4 No.6, was a Soviet spacecraft intended to explore Venus. A 3MV-4 spacecraft launched as part of the Venera programme, Kosmos 96 was to have made a flyby of Venus; however, due to a launch failure, it did not depart low Earth orbit. The 3MV-4 No.6 spacecraft was originally built for a mission to Mars, with launch scheduled for late 1964. After it was not launched by the end of its launch window, the spacecraft was repurposed, along
17602622
Exploration of Mars


Western media) was the first Soviet unmanned spacecraft interplanetary exploration program, which consisted of two flyby probes launched towards Mars in October 1960, Mars 1960A and Mars 1960B (also known as "Korabl 4" and "Korabl 5" respectively). After launch, the third stage pumps on both launchers were unable to develop enough pressure to commence ignition, so Earth parking orbit was not achieved. The spacecraft reached an altitude of 120 km before reentry. Mars 1962A was a Mars fly-by mission, launched on October 24
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Mars 6


coast stage, or bus, carried a magnetometer, plasma traps, cosmic ray and micrometeoroid detectors, and an instrument to study proton and electron fluxes from the Sun. Built by Lavochkin, Mars 6 was the first of two 3MP spacecraft launched to Mars in 1973 and was followed by Mars 7. Two orbiters, Mars 4 and Mars 5, were launched earlier in the 1973 Mars launch window and were expected to relay data for the two landers. However, Mars 4 failed to enter orbit, and Mars 5 failed after
13443377
Mars program


housing ended the mission. About 60 images were returned over a nine-day period showing swaths of the area south of Valles Marineris, from to . In 1973 the speed required to place a spacecraft in an interplanetary trajectory had to be increased. Thus the Proton could not deliver spacecraft with an orbiter and an attached lander to the necessary trajectory to reach Mars, as had been possible in 1971. To resolve this problem, four spacecrafts were launched. The Mars 4 and 5 orbiters, which had been launched separately, were
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Mars 5


a radio probe. Built by Lavochkin, Mars 5 was the second of two 3MS spacecraft launched to Mars in 1973, following Mars 4. A 3MS was also launched during the 1971 launch window as Kosmos 419. However, due to a launch failure, it failed to depart Earth orbit. In addition to the orbiters, two 3MP lander missions, Mars 6 and Mars 7, were launched during the 1973 window. Mars 5 was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from
13443374
SpaceX Mars transportation infrastructure


on-orbit propellant refill via "ITS tanker"—were to begin no earlier than 2022. At the time, the company was planning for launches of research spacecraft to Mars using Falcon Heavy launch vehicles and specialized modified Dragon spacecraft, called "Red Dragon". Due to planetary alignment in the inner Solar System, Mars launches are typically limited to a window of approximately every 26 months. As announced in June 2016, the first launch was planned for Spring 2018, with an announced intent to launch again in every Mars launch window thereafter
7029577
Kosmos 419


9, in the aim of becoming the first Mars orbiter. As it was, Mariner 8 was lost in a launch failure two days before Kosmos 419 was launched, and Mariner 9 went on to become the first spacecraft to orbit Mars. Kosmos 419 was one of three "Mars" spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union in 1971, the others being Mars 2 and Mars 3; launched days after Kosmos 419. Unlike the 4M spacecraft, Mars 2 and 3, Kosmos 419 was a 3MS spacecraft which consisted only of
11026504
List of Mars orbiters


Agency (ESA) launched their first planetary mission with Mars Express to conduct reconnaissance and exploration of Mars from orbit. On 12 August 2005, NASA launched "Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter" (MRO). As MRO entered orbit in 2006, it joined three other active spacecraft which were in Mars' orbit: Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Express, and "2001 Mars Odyssey"; at the time, this set a record for the most operational spacecraft in the immediate vicinity of Mars. MGS has since ceased to
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Mars 1M


Mars 1M was a series of two unmanned spacecraft which were used in the first Soviet missions to explore Mars. They were the earliest missions of the Mars program. The Western media dubbed the spacecraft "Marsnik", a portmanteau of "Mars" and "Sputnik". Mars 1M No.1, known in the West as Marsnik 1, Mars 1960A and Korabl 4, was destroyed in a launch failure on October 10, 1960. In 1962, NASA Administrator James E. Webb informed the United States Congress that NASA believed
13105565
Vesta (spacecraft)


asteroid (less than 4 km/s). Nevertheless, 3 possible trajectories were designed, with two Mars gravity assists. A single Mars swing-by is also possible, but the double gravity assist increases the mass budget of the spacecraft by 30%, at the cost of an additional 1.8 year in travel time to the asteroid belt. The following trajectories are for the 1994 launch window. The size and type of each asteroid is also shown here: Trajectory 1: Total delta-v: 450 m/s
3444345
Zond 3


spacecraft was launched on a Mars-crossing trajectory as a spacecraft test, even though Mars was no longer attainable. The spacecraft was of the 3MV-4 type, similar to Zond 2. In addition to a 106.4 mm focal length imaging system for visible light photography and ultraviolet spectrometry at 285-355 nanometres, it carried ultraviolet (190-275 nanometre) and infrared (3-4 micrometre) spectrophotometers, radiation sensors (gas-discharge and scintillation counters), charged particle detector, magnetometer, and micrometeoroid detector. It also
15398093
2011 in spaceflight


the "Dawn" spacecraft became the first artificial satellite of the asteroid 4 Vesta. The Mars Science Laboratory – at the time, the largest Mars rover ever constructed – was launched in November, conducting a successful landing on Mars in August 2012. Six orbital launches failed in 2011, four of which failed to achieve orbit and the remaining two reached lower orbits than expected. The first failure occurred on 1 February, when a Rokot with a Briz-KM upper stage placed Kosmos 2470 into a useless orbit, from which it
19525875
Mars program


The Mars program was a series of unmanned spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union between 1960 and 1973. The spacecraft were intended to explore Mars, and included flyby probes, landers and orbiters. Early Mars spacecraft were small, and launched by Molniya rockets. Starting with two failures in 1969, the heavier Proton-K rocket was used to launch larger 5 tonne spacecraft, consisting of an orbiter and a lander to Mars. The orbiter bus design was likely somewhat rushed into service and immature, considering that it performed very unreliably in
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Mars Pathfinder


Mars Pathfinder (MESUR Pathfinder) is an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight (10.6 kg/23 lb) wheeled robotic Mars rover named "Sojourner", which became the first rover to operate outside the Earth–Moon system. Launched on December 4, 1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II booster a month after the "Mars Global Surveyor" was launched, it landed on July 4,
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Mars 2M No.522


the cosmodrome as a pool of spilled nitrogen tetroxide was blocking one of the entryways out, while other entryway was blocked by the still-intact second stage of the rocket. By the time this had happened, the alignment of Earth and Mars necessary to launch spacecraft had ended, and the Soviets were unable to launch any further Mars probes until 1971. It also resulted in delays to a number of Luna spacecraft scheduled for launch in 1969.The accident left a deep impression on Soviet military personnel attending the launch and helped spur the development
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Mars 7


Mars 5, were launched earlier in the 1973 Mars launch window and were expected to relay data for the two landers. However, Mars 4 failed to enter orbit, and Mars 5 failed after a few days in orbit. Mars 7 was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/24. The launch occurred at 17:00:17 UTC on 9 August 1973, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and upper stage into a low Earth parking orbit before the Blok D
13443382
Exploration of Mars


, which constituted the first detection of the nightside ionosphere on Mars. Mars 7 probe separated prematurely from the carrying vehicle due to a problem in the operation of one of the onboard systems (attitude control or retro-rockets) and missed the planet by . In 1964, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory made two attempts at reaching Mars. Mariner 3 and Mariner 4 were identical spacecraft designed to carry out the first flybys of Mars. Mariner 3 was launched on November 5, 1964, but the shroud encasing the spacecraft atop its
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Mars landing


on May 25, 2008. It is famous for having been successfully photographed while landing, since this was the first time one spacecraft captured the landing of another spacecraft onto a planetary body (the Moon not being a planet, but a satellite). "Phoenix" was followed by the Mars Science Laboratory, a rover more capable than "Spirit" and "Opportunity". Originally the Mars Science Laboratory was intended for a launch during 2009 however, it was launched on November 26, 2011. Russia launched Fobos-Grunt
5848647
Mars 6


Mars 6 (), also known as 3MP No.50P was a Soviet spacecraft launched to explore Mars. A 3MP bus spacecraft launched as part of the Mars programme, it consisted of a lander, and a coast stage with instruments to study Mars as it flew past. The Mars 6 spacecraft carried an array of instruments to study Mars. The lander was equipped with a thermometer and barometer to determine the surface conditions, an accelerometer and radio altimeter for descent, and instruments to analyse the surface material including a mass spectrometer. The
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Mars 5


Mars 5 (), also known as 3MS No.53S was a Soviet spacecraft launched to explore Mars. A 3MS spacecraft launched as part of the Mars programme, it successfully entered orbit around Mars in 1974. However, it failed a few weeks later. The Mars 5 spacecraft carried an array of instruments to study Mars. In addition to cameras, it was equipped with a radio telescope, an IR radiometer, multiple photometers, polarimeters, a magnetometer, plasma traps, an electrostatic analyser, a gamma-ray spectrometer, and
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Transfer Orbit Stage


produced by Honeywell. Its control system employed a digital optimal, time-scheduled control algorithm to provide stability whilst the Orbus 21 was burning, while a phase-plane controller was used to manage its reaction-control system. Only two Transfer Orbit Stages were launched. The first was launched on 25 September 1992, aboard a Commercial Titan III with the Mars Observer spacecraft bound for Mars. Despite a successful launch, the Mars Observer spacecraft later malfunctioned. The second use of a TOS was the deployment of the Advanced Communications Technology
7689456
Mars Observer


for subsequent missions to Mars. Science instruments originally developed for "Mars Observer" were placed on four subsequent spacecraft to complete the mission objectives: Mars Global Surveyor launched in 1996, Mars Climate Orbiter launched in 1998, 2001 Mars Odyssey launched in 2001 and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched in 2005. On August 24, 1993, "Mars Observer" would turn 180-degrees and ignite the bipropellant thrusters to slow the spacecraft, entering into a highly elliptical orbit. Over the next three months, subsequent "transfer to lower orbit" (TLO
3968734
Firouz Naderi


of 2000, he helped re-plan the Program as a chain of scientifically, technologically and operationally interrelated missions with a spacecraft launched to Mars every two years. He led the Program for the next five years, a span of time that included the successful landing of the Mars Exploration Rovers, "Spirit" and "Opportunity". All told, from 2000-2012 there has been an unprecedented 6 consecutive successful American missions to Mars (4 landers and 2 orbiters) based on the roadmap devised in the summer of 2000
724537
Nimbus 4


Nimbus 4 (also called Nimbus D) was a meteorological satellite. It was the fourth in a series of the Nimbus program. Nimbus 4 was launched on April 8, 1970, by a Thor-Agena rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, CA. The spacecraft functioned nominally until 30 Sep 1980. The satellite orbited the Earth once every 1 hour and 47 minutes, at an inclination of 80°. Its perigee was and apogee was . Nimbus 4, the fourth in a series of second-generation meteorological
16596410
Mars Climate Orbiter


Spacecraft Technology was established to set guidelines for future miniature spacecraft. The panel determined that the new line of miniature spacecraft should be under 1000 kilograms with highly focused instrumentation. In 1995, a new Mars Surveyor program began as a set of missions designed with limited objectives, low costs, and frequent launches. The first mission in the new program was Mars Global Surveyor, launched in 1996 to map Mars and provide geologic data using instruments intended for Mars Observer. Following Mars Global Surveyor, "Mars Climate Orbiter" carried two instruments
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Mars 3


Mars 3 was a robotic space probe of the Soviet Mars program, launched May 28, 1971, nine days after its twin spacecraft Mars 2. The probes were identical robotic spacecraft launched by Proton-K rockets with a Blok D upper stage, each consisting of an orbiter and an attached lander. After the Mars 2 lander crashed on the Martian surface, the Mars 3 lander became the first spacecraft to attain a soft landing on Mars, on 2 December 1971. It failed 20 seconds after landing, having transmitted only a
13443395
Gravity of Mars


based observation. Later with the arrival of unmanned spacecraft, subsequent gravity models were developed from radio tracking data. Before the arrival of the Mariner 9 and Viking orbiter spacecraft at Mars, only an estimate of the Mars gravitational constant GM, i.e. the universal constant of gravitation times the mass of Mars, was available for deducing the properties of the Martian gravity field. GM could be obtained through observations of the motions of the natural satellites of Mars (Phobos and Deimos) and spacecraft flybys of Mars (Mariner 4 and Mariner 6
5298861
Mars 1M No.2


Mars 1M No.2, designated "Mars 1960B" by NASA analysts and dubbed "Marsnik 2" by the Western media, was a spacecraft launched as part of the Soviet Union's Mars programme, which was lost in a launch failure in 1960. 1M No.2, which was intended to explore Mars from flyby trajectory, was destroyed after its Molniya carrier rocket failed to achieve orbit. Mars 1M No.2 was the second Mars 1M spacecraft to be launched, lifting off four days after its sister craft, Mars 1
222783
Zond 3


Zond 3 was a 1965 space probe which performed a flyby of the Moon far side, taking a number of quality photographs for its time. It was a member of the Soviet Zond program while also being part of the Mars 3MV project. It was unrelated to Zond spacecraft designed for manned circumlunar missions (Soyuz 7K-L1). It is believed that Zond 3 was initially designed as a companion spacecraft to Zond 2 to be launched to Mars during the 1964 launch window. The opportunity to launch was missed, and the
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MAVEN


as Mars moved too far out of alignment with the Earth. However, two days later, a public announcement was made that NASA had deemed the 2013 MAVEN launch so essential to ensuring future communication with current NASA assets on Mars—the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers—that emergency funding was authorized to restart spacecraft processing in preparation for an on-time launch. On September 22, 2014, at approximately 2:24 UTC, MAVEN spacecraft entered orbit around Mars, completing an interplanetary journey of 10 months and 442 million miles (711 million
9520657
Mars Express


are additionally external teams, such as the Project and Industry Support teams, who designed and built the spacecraft. The Flight Control Team currently consists of: The team build-up, headed by the Spacecraft Operations Manager, started about 4 years before launch. He was required to recruit a suitable team of engineers that could handle the varying tasks involved in the mission. For "Mars Express" the engineers came from various other missions. Most of them had been involved with Earth orbiting satellites. Since orbit insertion "Mars Express
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Mars program


probe to Mars as part of the Zond program; Zond 2, however it failed en route. Two more spacecraft were sent during the Phobos program. In 1996, Russia launched Mars 96, its first interplanetary mission since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, however it failed to depart Earth orbit. The first Soviet attempts to send a probe to Mars were the two Mars 1M spacecraft, which each had a mass of about 650 kg. Both were launched in 1960 and failed to achieve orbit. The spacecraft were dubbed
3506640
Mars 4


upper stage, flying from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/23. The launch occurred at 19:30:59 UTC on 21 July 1973, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and upper stage into a low Earth parking orbit before the Blok D fired to propel Mars 4 into heliocentric orbit bound for Mars. Shortly after performing a course correction on 30 July 1973, two onboard computers failed, leaving Mars 4 unable to perform manoeuvres. As a result of this, it was unable to enter orbit around Mars. Twelve photographs were taken on 10 February
13443372
Psyche (spacecraft)


and question the proposers and their plan. On January 4, 2017, "Lucy" and "Psyche" were selected for the 13th and 14th Discovery missions, respectively, with launch for "Psyche" set for 2023. In May 2017 the launch date was moved up to target a more efficient trajectory, launching in August 2022 and arriving in January 31, 2026 with a Mars gravity assist in May 23, 2023. The "Psyche" spacecraft will use solar electric propulsion, and the scientific payload will be an imager
22095433
Mariner 4


Mariner 4 (together with Mariner 3 known as Mariner–Mars 1964) was the fourth in a series of spacecraft intended for planetary exploration in a flyby mode. It was designed to conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and to transmit these observations to Earth. Launched on November 28, 1964, Mariner 4 performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first close-up pictures of the Martian surface. It captured the first images of another planet ever returned from deep space; their depiction of a cratered,
4213
Gagarin's Start


its maiden voyage from LC-1 on 15 May 1957. On 4 October 1957 the pad was used to launch the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. Manned spaceflights launched from the site include Yuri Gagarin's flight, Valentina Tereshkova's flight, and numerous other human spaceflight missions, including all Soviet and Russian manned spaceflights to Mir. The pad was also used to launch Luna program spacecraft, Mars probe program spacecraft, Venera program spacecraft, many Cosmos satellites and others. From 1957 through 1966 the site hosted ready-to
16223218
Mars Cube One


postponed to 5 May 2018 after a major test failure of an "InSight" scientific instrument. The Atlas V rocket launched the spacecraft together with "InSight", then the two MarCO separated soon after launch to fly their own trajectory to Mars in order to test CubeSats' endurance and navigation in deep space. During the cruise phase, the two spacecraft were kept about away from "InSight" at either flank for safety, and the distance was reduced as the three spacecraft approached Mars. The closest flyby distance to Mars was
21350637
Mars 2MV-4 No.1


unfolding, the USSR spacecraft "Mars 2MV-4 No.1" was launched at 17:55:04 UTC on 24 October 1962, atop a Molniya 8K78 carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The lower stages of the rocket performed nominally, placing the payload and the Blok L upper stage into low Earth orbit. When the Blok L ignited following a coast phase, lubricant leaked out of the turbopump, which consequently seized up and disintegrated. This caused the main engine to explode, destroying the upper stage and spacecraft. Twenty two pieces
3823633
Mars 1M No.1


Mars 1M No.1, designated "Mars 1960A" by NASA analysts and dubbed "Marsnik 1" by the Western media, was the first spacecraft launched as part of the Soviet Union's Mars programme. A Mars 1M spacecraft, it was intended for conducting flight testing system and to study the interplanetary environment between Earth and Mars, however it was lost in a launch failure before it could begin its mission. Mars 1M No.1 was the payload of the Molniya 8K78 rocket's maiden flight. The rocket, which had
222780
Space-Based Infrared System


several broken solder joints in a subcontract procured gyroscope assembly on the first spacecraft being built. It was feared that a further launch postponement into late 2011 would lead to conflict with the planned launches of NASA's Juno spacecraft and Mars Science Laboratory, which will all use the same launch facility. However, the first GEO launch, GEO-1, was successfully conducted on May 7, 2011. According to a Reuters report, the first two SBIRS GEO satellites started operations in 2013. GEO-3 launched on 20 January 2017, and SBIRS GEO-4
4175031
Mars Observer


Other elements such as the bipropellant components and high-gain antenna were designed specifically for the mission. "Mars Observer" was launched on September 25, 1992 at 17:05:01 UTC by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, aboard a Commercial Titan III CT-4 launch vehicle. The complete burn sequence lasted for 34 minutes after a solid-fuel Transfer Orbit Stage placed the spacecraft into an 11-month, Mars transfer trajectory, at a final speed of 5.28 km/s
3968731
Launch window


can be somewhat flexible if a parking orbit is used, because the inclination and time the spacecraft initially spends in the parking orbit can be varied. See the launch window used by the "Mars Global Surveyor" spacecraft to the planet Mars at . Space Shuttle missions to the International Space Station were restricted by beta angle cutout. Beta angle (formula_1) is defined as the angle between the orbit plane and the vector from the Sun. Due to the relationship between an orbiting object's beta angle (in this case, the
20951576
Exploration of Mars


, 1962 and Mars 1962B an intended first Mars lander mission, launched in late December of the same year (1962). Both failed from either breaking up as they were going into Earth orbit or having the upper stage explode in orbit during the burn to put the spacecraft into trans-Mars trajectory. Mars 1 (1962 Beta Nu 1), an automatic interplanetary spacecraft launched to Mars on November 1, 1962, was the first probe of the Soviet Mars probe program to achieve interplanetary orbit. Mars 1 was intended to
1581085
Mars 7


Mars 7 (), also known as 3MP No.51P was a Soviet spacecraft launched to explore Mars. A 3MP bus spacecraft which comprised the final mission of the Mars programme, it consisted of a lander and a coast stage with instruments to study Mars as it flew past. Due to a malfunction, the lander failed to perform a maneuver necessary to enter the Martian atmosphere, missing the planet and remaining in heliocentric orbit along with the coast stage. Mars 7 spacecraft carried an array of instruments to study Mars. The lander was
13443380
Mars 2M No.522


Mars 2M No.522, also known as Mars M-69 No.522 and sometimes identified by NASA as Mars 1969B, was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1969. It consisted of an orbiter. The spacecraft was intended to image the surface of Mars using three cameras, with images being encoded for transmission back to Earth as television signals. It also carried a radiometer, a series of spectrometers, and an instrument to detect water vapour in the atmosphere of Mars. It was one of two Mars 2M spacecraft
16157783
Mars 2M No.521


Mars 2M No.521, also known as Mars M-69 No.521 and sometimes identified by NASA as Mars 1969A, was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1969. It consisted of an orbiter. The spacecraft was intended to image the surface of Mars using three cameras, with images being encoded for transmission back to Earth as television signals. It also carried a radiometer, a series of spectrometers, and an instrument to detect water vapour in the atmosphere of Mars. It was one of two Mars 2M spacecraft
16157790
Mars 1


Mars 1, also known as 1962 Beta Nu 1, Mars 2MV-4 and Sputnik 23, was an automatic interplanetary station launched in the direction of Mars on November 1, 1962, the first of the Soviet Mars probe program, with the intent of flying by the planet at a distance of about . It was designed to image the surface and send back data on cosmic radiation, micrometeoroid impacts and Mars' magnetic field, radiation environment, atmospheric structure, and possible organic compounds. After leaving Earth orbit, the spacecraft and the
4297985
Mars 1M


the mission was an attempt at a Mars flyby probe. Some Soviet scientists involved with the program at that time claim no knowledge of this mission, stating that only the second launch was an intended Mars mission. However, V. G. Perminov, the leading designer of planetary spacecraft at the Lavochkin design bureau, states that this mission was indeed intended for Mars and was identical to the later mission. Mars 1M No.2, known in the West as Marsnik 2, Korabl 5 and Mars 1960B, was launched on October 14,
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Mars program


to a computer error which resulted from degradation of the systems during the trip to Mars. The intended landing site was . The lander and bus continued on into heliocentric orbits. The Mars 4NM and Mars 5NM projects would have seen heavier spacecraft launched by N1 rockets. They would have deployed heavy Marsokhod rovers onto the surface, and conducted sample return missions. The N1 failed on all four of its test flights, and was never used to launch any Mars spacecraft. Mars 5M (Mars 79) was a sample return mission
3506656
Mars 96


thermoelectric generator (RTG) and a battery. The expected lifetime of each Penetrator was one year. The launch was to take place on November 16, 1996 on a Proton 8K82K/11S824F rocket. This is a four-stage rocket in a configuration which had flown only twice before, both times to launch Phobos spacecraft towards Mars in 1988. The first three stages were to burn to fuel depletion. The fourth stage, called the Block D-2, would then ignite to place it and the spacecraft into a parking orbit around the Earth
5106870
Mars Geyser Hopper


, not including the launch cost. It must have a March 1, 2016 launch date requirement (or no later than December 31, 2016) to land during the Mars southern summer. In order to reduce the cost and minimize risk, the spacecraft concept is based on a previous spacecraft design, the Mars Phoenix lander, which has a demonstrated flight heritage that incorporates soft landing capability and incorporates a restartable rocket propulsion system, suitable to be repurposed for this mission requirements. The spacecraft would land at a target landing area near
9260630
Mars program


. Both were destroyed during launch. The Mars 4M spacecraft; Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions consisted of identical spacecraft, each with an orbiter and an attached lander, which became the first spacecraft to reach the surface of Mars. The orbiters' primary scientific objectives were to image the Martian surface and clouds, determine the temperature on Mars, study the topography, composition and physical properties of the surface, measure properties of the atmosphere, monitor the solar wind and the interplanetary and Martian magnetic fields, and act as communications
3506642
Mars 7


equipped with a thermometer and barometer to determine the surface conditions, an accelerometer and radio altimeter for descent, and instruments to analyse the surface material including a mass spectrometer. The coast stage, or bus, carried a magnetometer, plasma traps, cosmic ray and micrometeoroid detectors, stereo antennae, and an instrument to study proton and electron fluxes from the Sun. Built by Lavochkin, Mars 7 was the second of two 3MP spacecraft launched to Mars in 1973, having been preceded by Mars 6. Two orbiters, Mars 4 and
13443381
Centennial Challenges


on Sep. 4 & 5. Team Mountaineers from West Virginia University collected 5 samples with a total score of 11 points, and won the challenge with a $750,000 prize. Efforts were coordinated by NASA and the WPI Robotics Center. The MAV Prize is a challenge to demonstrate technologies that may be relevant to future NASA Science Mission Directorate Mars missions. The competition will mimic a MAV mission. When NASA eventually returns samples from Mars, there will be a requirement for a special rocket system — the MAV — to launch the samples
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Mariner 4


not be completed before the 1964 Mars window closed, the new shroud was ready by November. After launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 12, the protective shroud covering Mariner 4 was jettisoned and the Agena-D/Mariner 4 combination separated from the Atlas-D booster at 14:27:23 UTC on November 28, 1964. The Agena's first burn took place from 14:28:14 to 14:30:38. The initial burn put the spacecraft into an Earth parking orbit and the second burn from 15:02:53 to 15:04:28 injected the craft into a Mars
4222
Zond 2


Zond 2 was a Soviet space probe, a member of the Zond program, and was the fifth Soviet spacecraft to attempt a flyby of Mars. It was launched on 30th November 1964 at 13:12 UTC onboard Molniya 8K78 launch vehicle from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Russia. The spacecraft intended to survey Mars from its flight path but lost its communication before reaching Mars. It was sixth attempt of Soviet Union in direction towards Mars. (See Exploration of Mars) Zond-2 carried a phototelevision camera of the same type later used to photograph
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Mars Microspacecraft Missions


Mars Microspacecraft Missions are proposed cheap launch missions costing less than $50 million that can be carried out by the Italian Space Agency to Mars to research Mars, ranging from the use of one spacecraft to multiple constellations of mini spacecraft. Under a study contract, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) developed the mechanical system concept for a Mars Microspacecraft to launch in a twin configuration on an Ariane V ASAP (Auxiliary Payload). As a member a multi-disciplined team, ASI developed the mechanical configuration and preliminary structure design for
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Mars flyby


unmanned spacecraft, that was launched separately from Earth, flying by. This would mean the ascent stage of the lander to reach the speed necessary equal to that of the spacecraft flying by, but the resources needed for Earth return would not have to enter or leave Mars orbit. The spacecraft they live in on the journey to Mars does the flyby, but the crew separates and goes into a lander. The Excursion module's ascent stage must rejoin the main spacecraft before it gets too far away. An advantage is that the
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Discovery Program


be implemented. On February 17, 1996, NEAR became the first mission to launch in the Discovery Program. The Mars Pathfinder launched on December 4, 1996, demonstrated a number of innovative, economical, and highly effective approaches to spacecraft and planetary mission design such as the inflated airbags that allowed the "Sojourner" rover to endure the landing. Note that the two Mars Exploration Rovers, "Opportunity" and "Spirit", were not a part of the Discovery Program, although they did re-use the overall landing
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Mars One


a robotic rover was proposed to be launched to Mars in order to scout a landing site for the 2027 lander and a site for the Mars One colony. At the same time, a communication satellite would be launched, enabling continuous communication with the future landed assets. In 2024, six cargo missions were proposed to be in close succession, consisting of two living units, two life-support units, and two supply units. A spacecraft transporting four astronauts was proposed to meet a transit vehicle bound for Mars. In 2025
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Mission Mars (film)


Mission Mars is a 1968 American science fiction film. It was produced by Everett Rosenthal, with a screenplay by Mike St. Clair from a story by Aubrey Wisberg, and directed by Nick Webster. The United States launches three astronauts on a mission to land on Mars at around the same time that the Soviet Union launches its own secret Mars mission. On their way to Mars, the American astronauts encounter the drifting bodies of two Soviet cosmonauts, whom they realize must have been buried in space. The American spacecraft lands safely on
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Mars landing


July 25, 1976. The Viking program was a descendant of the cancelled Voyager program, whose name was later reused for a pair of outer solar system probes. NASA's "Mars Pathfinder" spacecraft, launched one month after Global Surveyor, landed on July 4, 1997. Its landing site was an ancient flood plain in Mars' northern hemisphere called Ares Vallis, which is among the rockiest parts of Mars. It carried a tiny remote-controlled rover called Sojourner, which was the first acting Mars rover that traveled a
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2009 in spaceflight


, Chang'e 1 was deorbited on 1 March, having completed its operations. Kaguya was also deorbited following a successful mission, impacting near Gill crater on 12 June. The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft failed on 29 August, having operated for less than half of its design life. The Mars Science Laboratory and Fobos-Grunt missions to Mars had been scheduled for launch at the end of 2009, however both were delayed to 2011 to allow more time for the spacecraft to be developed. Fobos-Grunt, a sample return mission to Mars'
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ITS launch vehicle


launch vehicle was announced to be a large interplanetary spacecraft named Mars Colonial Transporter, capable of carrying up to of passengers and cargo. Musk stated that Mars Colonial Transporter will be "100 times the size of an SUV". According to SpaceX engine development head Tom Mueller, concept designs at the time indicated SpaceX could use nine Raptor engines on a single rocket, similar to the use of nine Merlin engines on each Falcon 9 booster core, in order "to put over 100 tons of cargo on Mars." At that
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Mars 6


a few days in orbit. Mars 6 was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/23. The launch occurred at 17:45:48 UTC on 5 August 1973, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and upper stage into a low Earth parking orbit before the Blok D fired to propel Mars 6 into heliocentric orbit bound for Mars. The spacecraft performed a course correction on 13 August 1973. Mars 6's lander separated from the flyby bus on 12 March 1974 at
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Mars 2M No.521


, along with Mars 2M No.522, which was launched in 1969 as part of the Mars programme. Neither launch was successful. The Mars 2M probes were originally intended to consist of both an orbiter and a lander. Time constraints did not permit the development of a soft lander, so engineers decided to simply use a hard lander that would crash into the Martian surface but gather data during its descent. At first, a modified Luna E-8 bus was to be used for the spacecraft, however it had a number of
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Mars 1M


1960. Both Mars 1M spacecraft were launched by Molniya rockets. The unproven third stage malfunctioned on both flights as cavitation in the fuel lines prevented the engines from developing adequate thrust, and, as a result, neither spacecraft achieved its initial geocentric parking orbit. Mars 1M No.2 reached an altitude of 120 km before reentry. Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev had planned to bring models of the Mars probes for showcasing at his visit to the UN that month, but as both launches failed, they remained packed. The objectives of
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Yinghuo-1


Yinghuo-1 was a Chinese Mars-exploration space probe, intended to be the first Chinese spacecraft to orbit Mars. It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on 8 November 2011, along with the Russian Fobos-Grunt sample return spacecraft, which was intended to visit Mars' moon Phobos. The 115-kg (250-lb) Yinghuo-1 probe was intended by the CNSA to orbit Mars for about two years, studying the planet's surface, atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetic field. Shortly after launch, Fobos-Grunt was expected to perform
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Hope Mars Mission


launched during a brief launch window in July 2020. If the launch opportunity is missed, the mission would have to wait two years for the next window. The spacecraft will be launched from Japan using a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA launcher, and is set to arrive at Mars in 2021. The mission team is divided into seven groups including Spacecraft, Logistics, Mission Operations, Project Management, Science Education & Outreach, Ground Station and Launch Vehicle. The team is headed by Omran Sharaf, who acts as the Project
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Human mission to Mars


launch itself back to the main transfer vehicle. (see also Mars flyby). Aerobraking at Mars was estimated in the 1980s to cut the mass of a Mars mission lifting off from Earth by half. As a result, Mars missions have designed interplanetary spacecraft and landers capable of aero-braking. Landed spacecraft on the surface of Mars: When an expedition reaches the orbit of Mars, braking is required to enter Mars orbit proper. Two options are available: rockets or aerocapture. Aerocapture at Mars for human missions was studied
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Mars Observer


The Mars Observer spacecraft, also known as the Mars Geoscience/Climatology Orbiter, was a robotic space probe launched by NASA on September 25, 1992, to study the Martian surface, atmosphere, climate and magnetic field. During the interplanetary cruise phase, communication with the spacecraft was lost on August 21, 1993, three days prior to orbital insertion. Attempts to re-establish communication with the spacecraft were unsuccessful. In 1984, a high priority mission to Mars was set forth by the Solar System Exploration Committee. Then titled
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Phobos 1


Phobos 1 was an unmanned Russian space probe of the Phobos Program launched from the Baikonour launch facility on 7 July 1988. Its intended mission was to explore Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. The mission failed on 2 September 1988 when a computer malfunction caused the end-of-mission order to be transmitted to the spacecraft. At the time of launch it was the heaviest interplanetary spacecraft ever launched, weighing . It was to take an estimated 200 days for the "Phobos 1" space probe to travel from the Earth
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Mars Climate Orbiter


17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, aboard a Delta II 7425 launch vehicle. The complete burn sequence lasted 42 minutes bringing the spacecraft into a Hohmann transfer orbit, sending the probe into a 9.5 months, 669 million kilometer trajectory. At launch, "Mars Climate Orbiter" weighed 638 kilograms (1,418 pounds) including propellant. "Mars Climate Orbiter" began the planned orbital insertion maneuver on September 23, 1999 at 09:00:46 UTC. "Mars Climate Orbiter" went out of radio contact when the spacecraft passed
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Exploration of Mars


. Mariner 9 successfully entered orbit about Mars, the first spacecraft ever to do so, after the launch time failure of its sister ship, Mariner 8. When Mariner 9 reached Mars in 1971, it and two Soviet orbiters (Mars 2 and Mars 3, see "Mars probe program" above) found that a planet-wide dust storm was in progress. The mission controllers used the time spent waiting for the storm to clear to have the probe rendezvous with, and photograph, Phobos. When the storm cleared sufficiently
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Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander


The NASA Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander was a planned Mars probe which was canceled in May 2000 in the wake of the failures of the Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander missions in late 1999. The Lander was a component of the "Mars Surveyor 2001" project, and its companion spacecraft Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter, renamed 2001 Mars Odyssey, was launched and went into orbit about Mars on October 24, 2001. The 2001 Surveyor lander spacecraft was built under contract to NASA by the Lockheed Martin corporation. Except for the solar
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Atlas-Agena


Agena malfunctioned and went off course, requiring its destruction approximately 5 minutes after liftoff. Mariner 2 successfully made the 3½-month flight, becoming the first spacecraft to fly by another planet. It carried microwave and infrared radiometers, and sensors for cosmic dust, solar plasma and high-energy radiation, and magnetic fields. Mariner 3 and Mariner 4 used a redesigned spacecraft bus weighing , and were launched on November 5 and November 28, 1964 to fly by the planet Mars. Mariner 3 failed after a successful launch when its payload shroud
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NASA Deep Space Network


distribution to science teams over a modern communications network. Especially at Mars, there are often many spacecraft within the beam width of an antenna. For operational efficiency, a single antenna can receive signals from multiple spacecraft at the same time. This capability is called Multiple Spacecraft Per Aperture, or MSPA. Currently the DSN can receive up to 4 spacecraft signals at the same time, or MSPA-4. However, apertures cannot currently be shared for uplink. When two or more high power carriers are used simultaneously, very high order
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Life on Mars


to low temperature, salts, and high pressure. Mars-1 was the first spacecraft launched to Mars in 1962, but communication was lost while en route to Mars. With Mars-2 and Mars-3 in 1971–1972, information was obtained on the nature of the surface rocks and altitude profiles of the surface density of the soil, its thermal conductivity, and thermal anomalies detected on the surface of Mars. The program found that its northern polar cap has a temperature below and that the water vapor content in the atmosphere of Mars is five thousand times
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TMK


TMK ( - "Tyazhely Mezhplanetny Korabl" or "Heavy Interplanetary Spacecraft") was the designation of a Soviet space exploration project to send a crewed flight to Mars and Venus (TMK-MAVR design) without landing. The TMK-1 spacecraft was due to be launched in 1971 and make a three-year-long flight including a Mars flyby, at which time probes would have been dropped. Expanded project variations, such as the TMK-E, Mavr or KK, including a Venus flyby, electric propulsion or a crewed
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Luna (rocket)


instead passed within of the Moon's surface 4 January 1959, and then went into orbit around the Sun between the orbits of Earth and Mars. The fifth flight of a Luna 8K72 (July 1959) ended 220 seconds after launch due to a guidance malfunction of the Blok A core stage, leading to RSO destruct. Luna 2 was launched by a Luna 8K72 12 September 1959. It was the first spacecraft to impact the lunar surface. The final successful launch of a Luna 8K72 took place 4 October 1959. The Luna
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Dawn (spacecraft)


mishap at the Astrotech Space Operations facility, involving slight damage to one of the solar arrays, did not have an effect on the launch date; however, bad weather caused the launch to slip to July 8. Range tracking problems then delayed the launch to July 9, and then July 15. Launch planning was then suspended in order to avoid conflicts with the "Phoenix" mission to Mars, which was successfully launched on August 4. The launch of "Dawn" was rescheduled for September 26, 2007, then September
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Mars Surveyor '98 program


The Mars Surveyor '98 program comprised two spacecraft launched separately, the Mars Climate Orbiter (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter) and the Mars Polar Lander (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander); on board the Mars Polar Lander spacecraft were two surface-penetrator probes (Deep Space 2). The two missions were to study the Martian weather, climate, water and carbon dioxide (CO) budget, to understand the reservoirs, behavior, and atmospheric role of volatiles and to search for evidence of long-
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Mars Express


Mars Express is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The "Mars Express" mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally referred to the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was designed and built. However "Express" also describes the spacecraft's relatively short interplanetary voyage, a result of being launched when the orbits of Earth and Mars brought them closer than they had been in about 60,000 years. "Mars
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Mars Orbiter Mission


illustration of the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft is featured on the reverse of the currency note of India. An image taken by the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft was the cover photo of the November 2016 issue of "National Geographic" magazine, for their story "Mars: Race to the Red Planet". ISRO plans to develop and launch a follow-up mission called Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (MOM-2 or "Mangalyaan-2") with a greater scientific payload to Mars in 2024. The orbiter will use aerobraking to reduce apoapsis of its
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List of Launch Services Program launches


Launch Services Program. Mars Exploration Rovers (MER-A & B) (Delta II) NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers launched aboard Delta II vehicles from CCAFS. MER-A "Spirit" launched June 2003, and MER-B "Opportunity" launched July 7 that same year. Both rovers reached Mars in January 2004. Information sent back to Earth from the rovers revealed the existence of water in the Red Planet's past (now ice). Previous missions to Mars include the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft that launched in
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Mars Global Surveyor


spacecraft was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida on 7 November 1996 aboard a Delta II rocket. The spacecraft traveled nearly 750 million kilometers (466 million miles) over the course of a 300-day cruise to reach Mars on 11 September 1997. Upon reaching Mars, "Surveyor" fired its main rocket engine for the 22-minute Mars orbit insertion (MOI) burn. This maneuver slowed the spacecraft and allowed the planet's gravity to capture it into orbit. Initially, Surveyor entered a highly elliptical orbit that took 45 hours
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Satish Dhawan Space Centre


is a universal launch pad, accommodating all of the launch vehicles used by ISRO. The two launch pads will allow multiple launches in a single year, which was not possible earlier. India's lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 launched from the centre at 6:22 AM IST on 22 October 2008. India's first Mars orbiter Mangalyaan was launched from the centre on November 5, 2013, which was successfully placed into Mars orbit on 24 Sep 2014. SHAR will be the main base for the Indian human spaceflight program. A new third launchpad will
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Mars 2


The Mars 2 was an unmanned space probe of the Mars program, a series of unmanned Mars landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union May 19, 1971. The Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions consisted of identical spacecraft, each with an orbiter and an attached lander. The orbiter is identical to the Venera 9 bus or orbiter. The type of bus/orbiter is the 4MV. They were launched by a Proton-K heavy launch vehicle with a Blok D upper stage. The lander of Mars 2 became the first
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List of minor planets and comets visited by spacecraft


is to Earth. As of early 2014 it was calculated to pass as close as . This was so close that the event was deemed dangerous to spacecraft in orbit around Mars. Spacecraft that were active at that time included "2001 Mars Odyssey", "Mars Express", MAVEN, Mars Orbiter Mission, and "Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter" in Mars orbit – and two on the surface – Mars Exploration Rover" Opportunity" and the Mars Science Laboratory "Curiosity". NASA's "Lucy" spacecraft is scheduled to tour
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List of USAF Provisional Wings assigned to Strategic Air Command


Wing (H) Glasgow AFB,MT. 11 Sep 66 – 31 Mar 67 92nd Bombardment Wing (H) Fairchild AFB,WA. Mar 68 – Sep 68 96th Bombardment Wing (H) Dyess AFB,TX. 22 Jun 70 – 19 Sep 70 99th Bombardment Wing (H) Westover AFB,MA.1 Oct 67 – 1 Apr 68; 22 Sep 68 – 21 Mar 69; 15 Mar 70 – 22 Jun 70. 306th Bombardment Wing (H) McCoy AFB,FL. 6 Sep 66 – Apr 67
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Mars landing


detection of the nightside ionosphere on Mars. The Mars 7 probe separated prematurely from the carrying vehicle due to a problem in the operation of one of the onboard systems (attitude control or retro-rockets) and missed the planet by 1300 km. Years earlier, in 1970 Soviet Union began the design of Mars 4NM and Mars 5NM missions with superheavy unmanned Martian spacecraft. First was Marsokhod with planned date of start in 1973 and second was Mars sample return mission planned for 1975. Both spacecraft were intended to be launched on the
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Interplanetary mission


using Apollo hardware in the 1970s. The American space agency NASA intends to be able to launch a manned interplanetary mission to Mars by some time after 2030 under the Vision for Space Exploration. The European Space Agency has the long-term vision of sending a human mission to Mars by 2030 under the Aurora Programme. The first interplanetary mission to fly past another planet was the Soviet Union's Venera 1. The robotic spacecraft was intended to enter into orbit around Venus, but suffered a malfunction and radio contact with the spacecraft was
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Mars 5


Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/24. The launch occurred at 18:55:48 UTC on 25 July 1973, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and upper stage into a low Earth parking orbit before the Blok D fired to propel Mars 5 into heliocentric orbit bound for Mars. The spacecraft performed course correction manoeuvres on 3 August 1973 and 2 February 1974, before reaching Mars on 12 February. At 14:44:25 the spacecraft's engines ignited to begin its orbit insertion burn, which successfully placed it into an Areocentric orbit with a periapsis of , an apoapsis
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