Mars · missions
Mars Missions
Every mission that reached Mars — flybys, orbiters, landers and rovers. Tap any entry to expand.
Mariner 4
Mariner 4 was NASA's first successful mission to Mars and the first spacecraft ever to fly past the planet and return close-up photographs of another world. Launched on 28 November 1964, it swept past Mars on 14–15 July 1965, transmitting the first pictures of a planet taken from deep space.
The probe returned 21 usable images (plus a partial 22nd) that covered roughly 1% of the surface and revealed a cratered, Moon-like landscape. It also measured a surprisingly thin atmosphere, with a surface pressure of about 4–7 millibars, and detected no significant global magnetic field.
The results reshaped humanity's picture of Mars: the cratered, arid terrain put an end to lingering hopes of canals, lush vegetation or an Earth-like world. Contact with the spacecraft was maintained until 1967.
Key facts
- Operator
- NASA
- Type
- Flyby
- Launch
- 28 Nov 1964
- Flyby
- 14–15 Jul 1965
- Images returned
- 21 usable
- Surface pressure
- ~4–7 mbar
- Contact ended
- 1967
Highlights
- First spacecraft to fly by Mars and photograph another planet up close.
- Returned 21 usable images covering about 1% of the surface.
- Revealed a cratered, Moon-like terrain.
- Measured a thin atmosphere and found no global magnetic field.
- Ended long-held hopes of canals and vegetation on Mars.
Mariner 9
Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. Launched on 30 May 1971, it entered Mars orbit on 14 November 1971, arriving just as a planet-wide dust storm engulfed the surface.
The orbiter waited weeks for the dust to settle before beginning its survey. Once the skies cleared, it mapped about 85% of the Martian surface and returned 7,329 images, transforming Mars from a blurry disc into a mapped world.
Its discoveries were landmark: the giant volcano Olympus Mons, the immense canyon system later named Valles Marineris after the Mariner program, the Tharsis volcanoes, and dry river channels hinting at a wetter past. The mission operated until October 1972.
Key facts
- Operator
- NASA
- Type
- Orbiter
- Launch
- 30 May 1971
- Orbit insertion
- 14 Nov 1971
- Surface mapped
- ~85%
- Images returned
- 7,329
- Operated until
- October 1972
Highlights
- First spacecraft ever to orbit another planet.
- Rode out a planet-wide dust storm before mapping the surface.
- Mapped about 85% of Mars and returned 7,329 images.
- Discovered Olympus Mons and the Valles Marineris canyon system.
- Found dry river channels hinting at a wetter Martian past.
Mars 2
Its lander became the first human-made object to reach the surface of Mars (1971), though it crash-landed; the orbiter operated and returned data.
Mars 3
Mars 3 was a Soviet mission built as an orbiter-and-lander pair. Launched on 28 May 1971, its lander touched down on 2 December 1971 — the first-ever soft landing on the surface of Mars.
The lander began transmitting but fell silent after about 20 seconds, most likely overwhelmed by a raging global dust storm. The brief, featureless signal is regarded as the first-ever transmission from the Martian surface.
While the lander was lost almost immediately, the Mars 3 orbiter continued to operate and returned data from around the planet.
Key facts
- Operator
- USSR
- Type
- Lander (orbiter + lander)
- Launch
- 28 May 1971
- Landing
- 2 Dec 1971
- Signal duration
- ~20 seconds
- Outcome
- Lost after landing
Highlights
- Achieved the first-ever soft landing on Mars.
- Sent the first transmission from the Martian surface.
- Fell silent after about 20 seconds, likely defeated by a global dust storm.
- The signal was too brief to return a usable image.
- The Mars 3 orbiter kept operating and returned data.
Viking 1
First fully successful Mars landing; sent back the first images from the surface and ran biology experiments.
Viking 2
Twin of Viking 1; landed in Utopia Planitia in 1976 and returned surface images, weather data and biology experiments.
Mars Pathfinder
An airbag landing delivered Sojourner, the first wheeled rover to drive on Mars.
Mars Global Surveyor
Mapped Mars for nearly a decade — laser-altimeter topography, high-resolution imaging and the hematite that steered Opportunity's landing site.
Nozomi
Japan's first Mars mission; propulsion and electrical faults kept it from entering orbit, and it flew past Mars in 2003.
Mars Climate Orbiter
Lost on arrival in 1999 when a mismatch between metric and imperial units in the navigation software sent it too deep into the atmosphere.
Mars Polar Lander
Lost during its 1999 landing attempt near the south pole — most likely its engines cut off early on a false touchdown signal.
Mars Odyssey
The longest-operating spacecraft at Mars; mapped water ice and minerals and relays data for the surface rovers.
Mars Express
Europe's first Mars mission; radar-sounded the poles and found evidence of subsurface water ice.
Beagle 2
Rode to Mars with Mars Express and landed in 2003, but two solar panels never unfolded, blocking its antenna. Orbiter imaging found it intact in 2015.
Spirit & Opportunity
Twin rovers that found strong evidence of past liquid water; Opportunity drove 45 km over 14 years.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Carries HiRISE, the sharpest camera at Mars (~30 cm/pixel); still imaging the surface and relaying data for the rovers after 15+ years.
Phoenix
Landed in the northern arctic plains and dug into the soil to touch and confirm water ice just below the surface.
Curiosity
A car-sized nuclear-powered rover; confirmed that Gale Crater once held a habitable lake environment.
MAVEN
Studies how the solar wind stripped away most of Mars's atmosphere over billions of years.
Mangalyaan
India's first interplanetary mission — and the first to reach Mars orbit on its maiden attempt.
ExoMars TGO
Traces atmospheric gases such as methane and serves as a data relay for surface missions.
InSight
A stationary geophysics station; its seismometer detected over 1,300 marsquakes and mapped the planet's deep interior.
Hope
The Arab world's first interplanetary mission, building a full picture of Martian weather and climate.
Tianwen-1
China's first Mars mission to orbit, land and deploy a rover (Zhurong) all in one attempt.
Perseverance
Seeking signs of ancient life and caching samples; carried Ingenuity, the first aircraft to fly on another world.
Rosalind Franklin
ESA's ExoMars rover, built to drill up to 2 m below the surface for signs of past life — targeted to launch in 2028 after years of delays.
Mars Sample Return
A planned NASA–ESA campaign to bring Perseverance's cached rock samples back to Earth. The architecture is under review, with no confirmed launch date.