All Missions

NASA

Sojourner

The Mars Pathfinder mission (1996) was a milestone that validated airbag landing systems and deployed the first mobile vehicle on Mars, the Sojourner. Designed to last 7 sols, the 10.6 kg rover operated for 83 sols, analyzing rock chemical composition with its APXS spectrometer and capturing 550 images. The mission confirmed a watery past in Ares Vallis and demonstrated the success of NASA's low-cost philosophy.

NASA

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), launched by NASA in November 1996, was a pioneering orbital mission that revolutionized our understanding of Mars. After a long aerobraking phase, it globally mapped the surface, studied mineralogy, analyzed the remnant magnetic field, and demonstrated the past presence of abundant liquid water.

NASA

Viking 2 Orbiter

Part of Viking 2

The Viking 2 Orbiter was inserted into Mars orbit on August 7, 1976. After deploying its lander, it operated independently conducting global, climatic, and atmospheric mapping. Its milestones include a close flyby of the moon Deimos and photographic confirmation of water ice at the north polar cap. The mission concluded on July 25, 1978, following a leak in its propulsion system.

NASA

Viking 2 Lander

Part of Viking 2

The Viking 2 Lander touched down in Utopia Planitia on September 3, 1976. It operated for 1281 sols, far exceeding its planned 90-day lifespan, until battery failure on April 11, 1980. It was the first mission to photograph seasonal water frost on the Martian surface and to successfully operate a seismometer on the planet, in addition to conducting controversial biological experiments.

NASA

Viking 1 (Lander)

Part of Viking 1

NASA's Viking 1 mission, launched in 1975, was a historic milestone. Comprising an orbiter and a lander, it achieved the first successful, long-duration US landing on Mars on July 20, 1976. While the orbiter mapped the planet, revealing river valleys, the lander conducted the first in-situ experiments to search for life, yielding ambiguous results that redefined Martian exploration.

NASA

Viking 1 (Orbiter)

Part of Viking 1

NASA's Viking 1 mission, launched in 1975, was a historic milestone. Comprising an orbiter and a lander, it achieved the first successful, long-duration US landing on Mars on July 20, 1976. While the orbiter mapped the planet, revealing river valleys, the lander conducted the first in-situ experiments to search for life, yielding ambiguous results that redefined Martian exploration.

OKB-1

Mars 5

Launched by the USSR in 1973, Mars 5 was the only spacecraft of that window (Mars 4, 5, 6, 7) to successfully enter Mars orbit on February 12, 1974. However, a depressurization of the instrument compartment, likely due to a micrometeoroid, caused its failure after only 22 orbits and 16 days of operation, though it managed to return 43 high-quality images and surface data.

NASA

Mariner 9

NASA's Mariner 9 was the first probe to orbit another planet, arriving at Mars in November 1971. Although a global dust storm obscured the surface, the mission waited patiently. As the dust cleared, it revealed a new Mars: discovering Olympus Mons , Valles Marineris , and ancient riverbeds.

OKB-1

Mars 3 (Orbiter)

Part of Mars 3

The USSR's Mars 3 mission (1971) was a historic partial success. Its orbiter functioned, but the lander, despite achieving the first-ever soft landing on Mars, only transmitted for 20 seconds. A massive global dust storm is believed to have caused the failure.

OKB-1

Mars 2 (Orbiter)

Part of Mars 2

The Mars 2 mission (USSR, 1971) was a dual orbiter and lander mission. It arrived during a global dust storm. The orbiter successfully entered orbit, but its science was limited by the dust. The lander failed due to an incorrect entry angle and crashed, becoming the first human object to impact Mars.

NASA

Mariner 7

NASA's Mariner 7 mission, launched in March 1969, was a resounding success. Alongside its twin, Mariner 6, it flew by Mars in August 1969, sending back 126 images. Its key discovery was determining that the southern polar cap was composed primarily of frozen CO2, not water ice, altering the scientific view of the planet.

NASA

Mariner 6

Mariner 6, launched in February 1969, was a resounding NASA success. During its Mars flyby, the probe returned 75 images and crucial data. Its instruments revealed an atmosphere composed mainly of CO2, measured very low surface pressures, and, most importantly, determined the south polar cap was frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice), not water ice.