A History of Missions to Mars

The planet Mars has not been easy to reach via spacecraft, as this list of missions reveals.

Viking's first image from Martian surface

Mars, at last! This is the first image sent by NASA's Viking 1 lander, taken just minutes after the spacecraft touched down on July 20, 1976. One of the lander's three footpads is at right.

NASA / JPL

Space travel isn't easy. But getting spacecraft to Mars has proven particularly challenging. The success rate for the nearly four dozen missions destined for the Red Planet (or its moon Phobos) is well below 50%.

In the table below, compiled by the editors of Sky & Telescope, green denotes a spacecraft that met its mission objectives, yellow means partial success, and red signifies that something went seriously wrong along the way — often within hours or even minutes of reaching the final destination.

A History of Martian Exploration
Mission	Origin	Launched	Intent	Result
Marsnik 1 (Korabl 4)	USSR	1960	flyby	launch failure
Marsnik 2 (Korabl 5)	USSR	1960	flyby	launch failure
Sputnik 22 (Korabl 11)	USSR	1962	flyby	Earth orbit only
Mars 1	USSR	1962	flyby	radio failed
Sputnik 24 (Korabl 13)	USSR	1962	flyby	Earth orbit only
Mariner 3	US	1964	flyby	launch shroud failed to jettison
Mariner 4	US	1964	flyby	first flyby
Zond 2	USSR	1964	flyby	radio failed
Mariner 6	US	1969	flyby	returned 75 photos
Mariner 7	US	1969	flyby	returned 126 photos
Mars 1969A	USSR	1973	orbiter	launch failure
Mars 1969B	USSR	1973	orbiter	launch failure
Mariner 8	US	1971	orbiter	launch failure
Kosmos 419	USSR	1971	lander	Earth orbit only
Mars 2	USSR	1971	orbiter & lander	lander lost on entry
Mars 3	USSR	1971	orbiter & lander	contact lost seconds after landing
Mariner 9	US	1971	orbiter	returned 7,329 photos
Mars 4	USSR	1973	orbiter	engine failure; flew past Mars
Mars 5	USSR	1973	orbiter	only operational a few days
Mars 6	USSR	1973	flyby & lander	lander failed on entry
Mars 7	USSR	1973	flyby & lander	lander missed the planet
Viking 1	US	1975	orbiter & lander	orbiter lasted 4 yr, lander 6+ yr
Viking 2	US	1975	orbiter & lander	orbiter lasted 2 yr, lander 3½ yr
Phobos 1	USSR	1988	orbiter & lander	lost en route to Mars
Phobos 2	USSR	1988	orbiter & lander	orbit achieved; lost near Phobos
Mars Observer	US	1992	orbiter	lost before Mars arrival
Mars Global Surveyor	US	1996	orbiter	operated for 7½ years
Mars 96	Russia	1996	orbiter & penetrators	launch failure
Mars Pathfinder	US	1996	lander & rover >	operated for 2½ months
Nozomi	Japan	1998	orbiter	electronics failure; Mars flyby
Mars Climate Orbiter	US	1998	orbiter	lost on arrival
Mars Polar Lander	US	1999	lander	lost during landing
Deep Space 2	US	1999	penetrators	lost during landing
Mars Odyssey	US	2001	orbiter	ongoing
Mars Express	ESA	2003	orbiter	ongoing
Beagle 2	ESA	2003	lander	lost during landing
Spirit	US	2003	rover	operated for 7½ yr
Opportunity	US	2003	rover	ongoing
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter	US	2005	orbiter	ongoing mission
Phoenix	US	2007	lander	operated for 5½ months
Fobos-Grunt	Russia	2011	lander (Phobos)	launch failure
Yinghuo 1	China	2011	orbiter	launch failure
Curiosity (MSL)	US	2011	lander	en route

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