Historical Log

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    # Launch Name Country Result Details
    1 1960 Korabl 4 USSR (flyby) Failure Didn't reach Earth orbit
    2 1960 Korabl 5 USSR (flyby) Failure Didn't reach Earth orbit
    3 1962 Korabl 11 USSR (flyby) Failure Earth orbit only; spacecraft broke apart
    4 1962 Mars 1 USSR (flyby) Failure Radio Failed
    5 1962 Korabl 13 USSR (flyby) Failure Earth orbit only; spacecraft broke apart
    6 1964 Mariner 3 US (flyby) Failure Shroud failed to jettison
    7 1964 Mariner 4 US (flyby) Success Returned 21 images
    8 1964 Zond 2 USSR (flyby) Failure Radio failed
    9 1969 Mars 1969A USSR Failure Launch vehicle failure
    10 1969 Mars 1969B USSR Failure Launch vehicle failure
    11 1969 Mariner 6 US (flyby) Success Returned 75 images
    12 1969 Mariner 7 US (flyby) Success Returned 126 images
    13 1971 Mariner 8 US Failure Launch failure
    14 1971 Kosmos 419 USSR Failure Achieved Earth orbit only
    15 1971 Mars 2 Orbiter/Lander USSR Failure Orbiter arrived, but sent no useful data; lander destroyed
    16 1971 Mars 3 Orbiter/Lander USSR Success/Failure Orbiter obtained approximately 8 months of data and lander landed safely, but only 20 seconds of data returned
    17 1971 Mariner 9 US Success Returned 7,329 images
    18 1973 Mars 4 USSR Failure Flew past Mars
    19 1973 Mars 5 USSR Success Returned 60 images; only lasted 9 days
    20 1973 Mars 6 Orbiter/Lander USSR Success/Failure Occultation experiment produced data and Lander failure on descent
    21 1973 Mars 7 Lander USSR Failure Missed planet; now in solar orbit.
    22 1975 Viking 1 Orbiter/Lander US Success Orbiter returned over 36,000 images; lander returned first image from the surface of Mars and conducted soil experiments
    23 1975 Viking 2 Orbiter/Lander US Success Returned 16,000 images and extensive atmospheric data and soil experiments
    24 1988 Phobos 1 Orbiter USSR Failure Lost en route to Mars
    25 1988 Phobos 2 Orbiter/Lander USSR Failure Lost near Phobos
    26 1992 Mars Observer US Failure Lost prior to Mars arrival
    27 1996 Mars Global Surveyor US Success Mapped Mars and its topography; studied indications of Mars’ wetter past
    28 1996 Mars 96 Russia Failure Launch vehicle failure
    29 1996 Mars Pathfinder US Success Technology experiment lasting 5 times longer than warranty
    30 1998 Nozomi Japan Failure No orbit insertion; fuel problems
    31 1998 Mars Climate Orbiter US Failure Lost on arrival
    32 1999 Mars Polar Lander US Failure Lost on arrival
    33 1999 Deep Space 2 Probes (2) US Failure Lost on arrival (carried on Mars Polar Lander)
    34 2001 Mars Odyssey US Success High resolution images of Mars
    35 2003 Mars Express Orbiter/Beagle 2 Lander ESA Success/Failure Orbiter imaging Mars in detail; lander appears to have landed intact but didn’t communicate with Earth
    36 2003 Mars Exploration Rover - Spirit US Success Operated for over 6 years on Mars, long past design life
    37 2003 Mars Exploration Rover - Opportunity US Success Operated for nearly 15 years, roving a record 28 miles (45 km)
    38 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter US Success Studying Mars in detail; has returned over 400 terabits of data (more than all other Mars missions combined)
    39 2007 Phoenix Mars Lander US Success Returned more than 25 gigabits of data from its studies of Mars’ north polar region
    40 2011 Mars Science Laboratory US Success Exploring Mars' habitability
    41 2011 Phobos-Grunt/Yinghuo-1 Russia/China Failure Stranded in Earth orbit
    42 2013 Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution US Success Studying the Martian atmosphere
    43 2013 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) India Success Develop interplanetary technologies and explore Mars' surface features, mineralogy and atmosphere.
    44 2016 ExoMars Orbiter/Schiaparelli EDL Demo Lander ESA/Russia Success/Failure Orbiter studying Martian atmosphere and EDL demo lander lost on arrival
    45 2018 Mars InSight Lander US Success Measuring “marsquakes” and studying the planet’s interior
    46 2020 Hope Orbiter UAE Success Studying the Martian atmosphere
    47 2020 Tianwen-1 Orbiter/Zhurong Rover China Success Orbiter arrived in Feb. 2021; released lander for successful touchdown and rover deployment in May 2021
    48 2020 Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover US Success Searching for signs of ancient life and collecting samples for future return to Earth

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