A series of probes to the planet Mars, launched by the former Soviet Union. Technical problems meant that most of them were complete or partial failures, although Mars 5 did send some photographs from orbit around the planet.
Mars Probes
Probe | Launch date | Results |
Mars 1 | 1962 November 1 | Radio contact lost en route |
Mars 2 | 1971 May 19 | Entered Mars orbit November 27; ejected lander which crashed |
Mars 3 | 1971 May 28 | Entered Mars orbit December 2; ejected lander, but transmissions failed |
Mars 4 | 1973 July 21 | Intended Mars orbiter; passed Mars 1974 February 10 after braking rocket failure |
Mars 5 | 1973 July 25 | Entered Mars orbit 1974 February 12 |
Mars 6 | 1973 August 5 | Flew past Mars 1974 March 12 and ejected lander, which crashed |
Mars 7 | 1973 August 9 | Flew past Mars 1974 March 9 and ejected lander, which missed the planet |