This is a list of spacecraft missions (including unsuccessful ones) to the planet Mars, such as orbiters, landers, and rovers. Mission time is often measured in Mars sols, solar days on Mars.
Missions
Mission Type Legend
Mission Launch date Operator Carrier rocket Spacecraft Mission typeChronology of Mars Exploration. NASA. Retrieved on 1 December 2011. Outcome 1 1M No.1 OKB-1 Molniya 1M No.1 Flyby Failed to achieve Earth orbit. 2 1M No.2 OKB-1 Molniya 1M No.2 Flyby Failed to achieve Earth orbit. 3 2MV-4 No.1 Soviet Union Molniya 2MV-4 No.1 Flyby Booster stage ("Block L") disintegrated in LEO. 4 Mars 1 Soviet Union Molniya 2MV-4 No.2 Flyby Communications lost before first flyby. 5 2MV-3 No.1 Soviet Union Molniya 2MV-3 No.1 Lander Never left Low Earth orbit. 6 Mariner 3 NASA Atlas LV-3 Agena-D Mariner 3 Flyby Payload fairing failed to separate. 7 Mariner 4 NASA Atlas LV-3 Agena-D Mariner 4 Flyby First successful flyby of Mars on 15 July 1965. 8 Zond 2 Soviet Union Molniya 3MV-4A No.2 Flyby Communications lost before flyby. 9 Mariner 6 NASA Centaur-D Mariner 6 Flyby Part of a dual mission to Mars along with Mariner 7. 10 2M No.521 Soviet Union Proton-K / D 1969A Orbiter Failed to achieve Earth orbit. 11 Mariner 7 NASA Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D Mariner 7 Flyby Part of a dual mission to Mars along with Mariner 6. Closest approach to Mars was five days after Mariner 6. 12 2M No.522 Soviet Union Proton-K / D 1969B Orbiter Failed to achieve Earth orbit. 13 Mariner 8 NASA Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D Mariner 8 Orbiter Failed to achieve Earth orbit. 14 Kosmos 419 Soviet Union Proton-K / D 3MS No.170 Orbiter Never left Low Earth orbit; booster stage burn timer set incorrectly. 15 Mars 2 Soviet Union Proton-K / D 4M No.171 Orbiter SA 4M No.171 Lander PrOP-M Rover On November 27, the Mars 2 Orbiter became in short sequence the second spacecraft to orbit another planet. The lander became the first human-made object to impact Mars. Deployed from Mars 2, failed to land during attempt on 27 November 1971. Operated for 362 orbits PrOP-M was the first rover launched to Mars. Lost when the Mars 2 lander crashed into the surface of Mars. 16 Mars 3 Soviet Union Proton-K / D 4M No.172 Orbiter SA 4M No.172 Lander PrOP-M Rover On December 2, it became in short sequence the third spacecraft to orbit another planet. Operated for 20 orbits. Mars 3 Lander was the first lander to make a soft landing on Mars on 2 December 1971. First partial image (70 lines) transmitted showing "gray background with no details". Contact lost 20 seconds after transmission started, 110 seconds after landing.NASA Space Science Data Center, Mars 3 Lander. Retrieved 11 Feb. 2021. PrOP-M was the first rover to make a soft landing on another planet. 4.5 kg (9.9 lb) rover connected to the Mars 3 lander by a tether. Deployment status unknown due to loss of communications with the Mars 3 lander. 17 Mariner 9 NASA Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D Mariner 9 Orbiter First spacecraft to orbit another planet, two weeks ahead of Mars 2 on November 14. Deactivated 516 days after entering orbit. 18 Mars 4 Soviet Union Proton-K / D 3MS No.52S Orbiter Failed to perform orbital insertion burn. Returned photographs of Mars during flyby. 19 Mars 5 Soviet Union Proton-K / D 3MS No.52S Orbiter Contact lost after 9 days in Mars orbit. Returned 180 frames. 20 Mars 6 Soviet Union Proton-K / D 3MS No.50P Orbiter Mars 6 lander Lander Flyby bus collected data. Contact lost upon landing, atmospheric data mostly unusable. 21 Mars 7 Soviet Union Proton-K / D 3MP No.51P Flyby Mars 7 lander Lander Flyby bus collected data. Lander separated from coast stage prematurely, failed to enter Martian atmosphere. 22 Viking 1 NASA Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T Viking 1 orbiter Orbiter Viking 1 lander Lander Entered Mars orbit on 19 June 1976 and operated until 1385 orbits. Viking 1 lander was the First successful Mars lander. Deployed from Viking 1 orbiter. Landed on Mars on 20 July 1976. Operated for 2245 sols. 23 Viking 2 NASA Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T Viking 2 orbiter Orbiter Viking 2 lander Lander Operated for 700 orbits. Entered Mars orbit on 7 August 1976. Viking 2 lander was deployed from Viking 2 orbiter. Landed on Mars in September 1976. Operated for 1281 sols (11 April 1980). 24 Phobos 1 Soviet Union Proton-K / D-2 1F No.101 Orbiter DAS Lander (Phobos) Communications lost before reaching Mars; failed to enter orbit. Phobos lander was to have been deployed by the spacecraft. 25 Phobos 2 Soviet Union Proton-K / D-2 1F No.102 Orbiter DAS Lander (Phobos) Prop-F Rover (Phobos) Orbital observations successful, communications lost before lander and rover deployment. 26 Mars Observer NASA Commercial Titan III Mars Observer Orbiter Lost communications before orbital insertion. 27 Mars Global Surveyor NASA Delta II 7925 Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter Operated for ten years. 28 Mars 96 Roscosmos Proton-K / D-2 M1 No.520(Mars-8) Orbiter Mars 96 lander (A) Lander Mars 96 lander (B) Lander Mars 96 penetrator (A) Penetrator Mars 96 penetrator (B) Penetrator Never left Low Earth orbit. Two small landers and penetrators were to have been deployed by the Mars 96 orbiter. 29 Mars Pathfinder NASA Delta II 7925 Mars Pathfinder Lander Sojourner Rover Landed at 19.13°N 33.22°W on 4 July 1997, last contact on 27 September 1997. Sojourner was the first rover to operate on another planet. Operated for 84 days 30 Nozomi ISAS M-V PLANET-B Orbiter Performed a Mars flyby. Later contact lost due to loss of fuel. However provided crucial information about the deep space environment. 31 Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter NASA Delta II 7425 Mars Climate Orbiter Orbiter Approached Mars too closely during orbit insertion attempt due to a software interface bug involving different units for impulse and either burned up in the atmosphere or entered solar orbit. 32 Mars Surveyor '98 Lander NASA Delta II 7425 Mars Polar Lander Lander Deep Space 2 (A) Penetrator Deep Space 2 (B) Penetrator Failed to function after landing. No data transmitted from Deep Space 2 after deployment from MPL. 33 2001 Mars Odyssey NASA Delta II 7925 Mars Odyssey Orbiter Was expected to remain operational until 2025. Operational as of . 34 Mars Express ESA Soyuz-FG / Fregat Mars Express Orbiter Orbiter Beagle 2 Lander Enough fuel to remain operational until 2035. No communications received after release from Mars Express. Orbital images of landing site suggest a successful landing, but two solar panels failed to deploy, obstructing its communications. 35 Spirit NASA Delta II 7925 Spirit (MER-A) Rover Landed on 4 January 2004. Operated for 2208 sols. 36 Opportunity NASA Delta II 7925H Opportunity (MER-B) Rover Landed on 25 January 2004. Operated for 5351 sols. – Cornerstone 9 ESA Ariane 5G+ Rosetta Flyby (Gravity assist) Philae Flyby (Gravity assist) Flyby in February 2007 en route to 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. 37 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter NASA Atlas V 401 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Orbiter Entered orbit on 10 March 2006. 38 Phoenix NASA Delta II 7925 Phoenix Lander Landed on 25 May 2008. End of mission 2 November 2008. – Dawn NASA Delta II 7925H Dawn Flyby (Gravity assist) Flyby in February 2009 en route to 4 Vesta and Ceres. 39 China-Russia joint Mars mission Roscosmos Zenit-2M Fobos-Grunt Sample return (Phobos) CNSA Yinghuo-1 Orbiter Never left Low Earth orbit (intended to depart under own power). Yinghuo-1 was to have been deployed by Fobos-Grunt. 40 Mars Science Laboratory NASA Atlas V 541 Curiosity Rover Landed on 6 August 2012. 41 Mars Orbiter Mission ISRO PSLV-XL MOM Orbiter Entered orbit on 24 September 2014. Mission extended to 2022, where the mission concluded on September 27, 2022, after contact was lost. 42 MAVEN NASA Atlas V 401 MAVEN Orbiter Orbit insertion on 22 September 2014. Last contact on 6 December 2025. 43 ExoMars Roscosmos / ESA Proton-M / Briz-M Trace Gas Orbiter Orbiter ESA Schiaparelli EDM Lander Entered orbit on 19 October 2016. Schiaparelli EDM lander was Carried by the Orbiter. Although the lander crashed, engineering data on the first five minutes of entry was successfully retrieved. 44 Discovery 12 NASA Atlas V 401 InSight Lander MarCO-A Flyby MarCO-B Flyby InSight landed on 26 November 2018. Last contact 15 December 2022. MarCO A and B relay cubesats which were used to test communications, flew by Mars on 26 November 2018 with last contact on 4 January 2019. 45 Emirates Mars Mission MBRSC H-IIA Hope Orbiter Entered orbit on 9 February 2021. 46 Tianwen-1 CNSA Long March 5 Tianwen-1 orbiter Orbiter Tianwen-1 lander Lander Zhurong Rover Tianwen-1 Remote Camera Camera Tianwen-1 Deployable Camera 2 Camera Entered orbit on 10 February 2021. Tianwen-1 lander landed on 14 May 2021 and deployed Zhurong rover. Rover became inactive on 20 May 2022. Remote Camera was deployed by the Tianwen-1 lander on 22 May 2021. Deployable Camera 2 entered orbit on 10 February 2021, deployed 31 December 2021. 47 Mars 2020 NASA Atlas V 541 Perseverance Rover Ingenuity Helicopter Landed on 18 February 2021. Ingenuity took the first aerodynamic flight on another planet. Landed with Perseverance rover on 18 February 2021. Deployed from rover on 3 April 2021. First flight achieved on 3 April 2021. Retired on 25 January 2024 due to sustained rotor blade damage. – Discovery 14 NASA Falcon Heavy Psyche Flyby (Gravity assist) Gravity assist en route to 16 Psyche in May 2026 – S2P ESA Falcon 9 Hera Flyby (Gravity assist) Flyby in March 2025 en route to 65803 Didymos. – Europa Clipper NASA Falcon Heavy Europa Clipper Flyby (Gravity assist) Flyby in March 2025 en route to Jupiter and Europa. 48 ESCAPADE NASA / UC Berkeley New Glenn ESCAPADE Blue Orbiter ESCAPADE Gold Orbiter Twin spacecraft; Mars orbit insertion expected in September 2027.
Landing locations
In 1999, Mars Climate Orbiter accidentally entered Mars's atmosphere and either burnt up or left Mars's orbit on an unknown trajectory.
There are a number of derelict spacecraft orbiting Mars whose location is not known precisely. There is a proposal to use the Optical Navigation Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to search for small moons, dust rings and old orbiters. As of 2016, there were believed to be eight derelict spacecraft in orbit around Mars (barring unforeseen event). The Viking 1 orbiter was not expected to decay until at least 2019. Mariner 9, which entered Mars orbit in 1971, was expected to remain in orbit until approximately 2022, when it was projected to enter the Martian atmosphere and either burn up, or crash into the planet's surface.NASA - This Month in NASA History: Mariner 9, 29 November 2011 – Vol. 4, Issue 9
Timeline
Missions to the moons of Mars
There have also been proposed missions dedicated to explore the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. Many missions to Mars have also included dedicated observations of the moons, while this section is about missions focused solely on them. There have been three unsuccessful dedicated missions and many proposals. Because of the proximity of the Mars moons to Mars, any mission to them may also be considered a mission to Mars from some perspectives..
Mission Target Outcome Reference Phobos 1 Phobos Phobos 2 Phobos Fobos-Grunt Phobos
Planned missions In Japan, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) is developing a sample return mission to Phobos. This mission is called Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) and is a flagship Strategic Large Mission. MMX will build on the expertise the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would gain through the Hayabusa2 and SLIM missions. As of December 2023, MMX is scheduled to launch in 2026.
Planned mission Target Reference Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Phobos and Deimos
Past proposals There have been at least three proposals in NASA's Discovery Program, including PADME, PANDORA, and MERLIN. The ESA has also considered a sample return mission, like Martian Moon Sample Return (MMSR).