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Mysterious Mars ~ Why have so many Mars missions ended in failure?
Thursday, October 2, 2014 12:01
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| Mars as imaged by the Hubble telescope |
With so many failures of U.S. as well as Russian missions sent to Mars, one begins to wonder if there is another cause at the root of these mission ending failures other than technical glitches. Most intriguing are the missions, both US as well as Russian, that succeeded in reaching the red planet, yet mysteriously failed once Mars orbit was achieved or, as in a number of missions, once a lander successfully touched down on the Mars surface.
Greg Giles
Historical Log
| Launch Date | Name | Country | Result | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Korabl 4 | USSR (flyby) | Failure | Didn’t reach Earth orbit |
| 1960 | Korabl 5 | USSR (flyby) | Failure | Didn’t reach Earth orbit |
| 1962 | Korabl 11 | USSR (flyby) | Failure | Earth orbit only; spacecraft broke apart |
| 1962 | Mars 1 | USSR (flyby) | Failure | Radio Failed |
| 1962 | Korabl 13 | USSR (flyby) | Failure | Earth orbit only; spacecraft broke apart |
| 1964 | Mariner 3 | US (flyby) | Failure | Shroud failed to jettison |
| 1964 | Mariner 4 | US (flyby) | Success | Returned 21 images |
| 1964 | Zond 2 | USSR (flyby) | Failure | Radio failed |
| 1969 | Mars 1969A | USSR | Failure | Launch vehicle failure |
| 1969 | Mars 1969B | USSR | Failure | Launch vehicle failure |
| 1969 | Mariner 6 | US (flyby) | Success | Returned 75 images |
| 1969 | Mariner 7 | US (flyby) | Success | Returned 126 images |
| 1971 | Mariner 8 | US | Failure | Launch failure |
| 1971 | Kosmos 419 | USSR | Failure | Achieved Earth orbit only |
| 1971 | Mars 2 Orbiter/Lander | USSR | Failure | Orbiter arrived, but no useful data and Lander destroyed |
| 1971 | Mars 3 Orbiter/Lander | USSR | Success | Orbiter obtained approximately 8 months of data and lander landed safely, but only 20 seconds of data |
| 1971 | Mariner 9 | US | Success | Returned 7,329 images |
| 1973 | Mars 4 | USSR | Failure | Flew past Mars |
| 1973 | Mars 5 | USSR | Success | Returned 60 images; only lasted 9 days |
| 1973 | Mars 6 Orbiter/Lander | USSR | Success/Failure | Occultation experiment produced data and Lander failure on descent |
| 1973 | Mars 7 Lander | USSR | Failure | Missed planet; now in solar orbit. |
| 1975 | Viking 1 Orbiter/Lander | US | Success | Located landing site for Lander and first successful landing on Mars |
| 1975 | Viking 2 Orbiter/Lander | US | Success | Returned 16,000 images and extensive atmospheric data and soil experiments |
| 1988 | Phobos 1 Orbiter | USSR | Failure | Lost en route to Mars |
| 1988 | Phobos 2 Orbiter/Lander | USSR | Failure | Lost near Phobos |
| 1992 | Mars Observer | US | Failure | Lost prior to Mars arrival |
| 1996 | Mars Global Surveyor | US | Success | More images than all Mars Missions |
| 1996 | Mars 96 | Russia | Failure | Launch vehicle failure |
| 1996 | Mars Pathfinder | US | Success | Technology experiment lasting 5 times longer than warranty |
| 1998 | Nozomi | Japan | Failure | No orbit insertion; fuel problems |
| 1998 | Mars Climate Orbiter | US | Failure | Lost on arrival |
| 1999 | Mars Polar Lander | US | Failure | Lost on arrival |
| 1999 | Deep Space 2 Probes (2) | US | Failure | Lost on arrival (carried on Mars Polar Lander) |
| 2001 | Mars Odyssey | US | Success | High resolution images of Mars |
| 2003 | Mars Express Orbiter/Beagle 2 Lander | ESA | Success/Failure | Orbiter imaging Mars in detail and lander lost on arrival |
| 2003 | Mars Exploration Rover – Spirit | US | Success | Operating lifetime of more than 15 times original warranty |
| 2003 | Mars Exploration Rover – Opportunity | US | Success | Operating lifetime of more than 15 times original warranty |
| 2005 | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | US | Success | Returned more than 26 terabits of data (more than all other Mars missions combined) |
| 2007 | Phoenix Mars Lander | US | Success | Returned more than 25 gigabits of data |
| 2011 | Mars Science Laboratory | US | Success | Exploring Mars’ habitability |
| 2011 | Phobos-Grunt/Yinghuo-1 | Russia/China | Failure | Stranded in Earth orbit |
| 2013 | Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution | US | Success | Studying the Martian atmosphere |
| 2013 | Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) | India | Success | Develop interplanetary technologies and explore Mars’ surface features, mineralogy and atmosphere. |
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