Mars exploration database

All Missions

Every mission ever sent to the Red Planet: orbiters, landers, rovers and the helicopter that flew. Filter, explore the chronology and open each file.

64MissionsLaunched
8ActiveWorking now
50%Success rateReached their goal
7Rovers
13Landers
30Orbiters
1Helicopters

Chronology of Mars exploration

Drag, scroll or use the arrows. The bars show how many missions launched each year: they cluster around the launch windows that open every 26 months.

ActiveCompletedFailedUpcoming
All64 Active8 Completed25 Failed28 Upcoming5
All Orbiter30 Lander13 Rover7 Flyby14 Helicopter1 Sample return1
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Showing 6 of 6 missions

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Failed · orbital failure
OKB-1

Zond 2

Zond 2 (1964) was a failed Soviet Mars flyby mission. A mechanical failure during rocket separation prevented one solar panel from deploying, cutting power by half. This led to thermal problems and the loss of communication in May 1965. It flew past Mars silently, but was the first spacecraft to test plasma thrusters in space.

Flyby
Failed · orbital failure
NASA

Mariner 3

Mariner 3 (1964) was NASA's first Mars flyby attempt. The launch was successful, but the fiberglass fairing protecting the probe failed to jettison. Trapped inside, the spacecraft could not deploy its solar panels. Its batteries died 8 hours later, leaving it inert in a solar orbit.

Flyby
Failed · contact lost before meeting objectives
OKB-1

Mars 1

Mars 1, launched by the USSR in 1962, was the first probe on a successful trajectory to Mars. It held 61 communication sessions, gathering interplanetary space data. On March 21, 1963, contact was lost at 106 million km due to a faulty valve in the attitude control system , which prevented the antenna from pointing to Earth.

Flyby
Failed · launch failure
OKB-1

Mars 2MV-4 No.1 (Sputnik 22)

The Soviet Mars 2MV-4 No. 1 probe (Sputnik 22) failed on October 24, 1962, when its Blok L upper stage exploded in LEO due to a seized staged-combustion turbopump. Its debris triggered a false ICBM attack alarm in Alaska, averted via vector tracking during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Flyby
Failed · launch failure
OKB-1

Mars 1M No.2 (Korabl 5)

The Soviet probe Korabl 5 (1M No. 2) was destroyed on October 14, 1960, during its launch to Mars after a catastrophic third-stage (Block I) failure at T+290 seconds. A liquid oxygen leak froze the kerosene in the turbopump, preventing ignition and forcing a suborbital re-entry over Siberia.

Flyby
Failed · launch failure
OKB-1

Korabl 4 (Mars 1M No. 1)

Korabl 4, launched by the Soviet Union in October 1960, was the first probe designed to perform a flyby of Mars. The mission failed during its ascent phase due to vibration and resonance issues in the upper stages of the launch vehicle, preventing it from reaching Earth orbit.

Flyby