In 1960, global missions to Mars began. The Mariner 4 launched by the US in 1964 was the first successful Mars mission that returned 21 images. Now, 51 years later, a total of 51 Mars missions to date have been launched. A number of successful ones have given mankind extraordinary images of the Red Planet.
1964: Mariner 4 (US) – flyby: This was the first successful flyby on planet Mars. It returned the first 21 images of the Martian surface.
1969: Mariner 7 (US) – flyby: This was a dual-spacecraft mission to Mars sent to study its surface and atmosphere. It returned 126 images.
1971: Mars 3 Orbiter/Lander (USSR) – This was the first spacecraft to make a successful soft landing on Mars. It obtained approximately eight months of data but only transmitted data after 20 seconds due to unknown reasons.
1971: Mariner 9 (US) – This was the first spacecraft to orbit the planet. It returned 7,329 images covering the entire planet, giving us the first global mapping of the red planet and detailed images of its volcanoes, polar ice caps, etc.
1975: Viking 2 Orbiter/Lander (US): Viking 2 operated on the Martian surface for 1,281 Mars days and sent 16,000 images of extensive atmospheric and soil experiments.
2005: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (US): Currently orbiting Mars and has returned more than 26 terabits of data, more than all other Mars missions combined.
2011: Mars Science Laboratory (US): The rover aptly called Curiosity has an on-board laboratory that studies rock samples and soil scooped from the planet to determine the Red Planet’s ability to support microbes.
2013: Mars Orbiter Mission (India): Also called Mangalyaan, it’s designed to develop interplanetary technologies and explore Mars’ surface features, mineralogy and atmosphere.
Source: National Space Science Data Centre - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
