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Missions to Mars:
(Unless otherwise noted, JPL manages the following missions for NASA.)
Back to Mars Home page
Current:
Mars Global Surveyor
This orbiter's prime mission was to map Mars. Having successfully completed its main mission, it entered an extended mission phase on January 31, 2001.
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Launch Date: |
November 7, 1996 |
Arrival: |
September 12, 1997 |
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2001 Mars Odyssey
2001 Mars Odyssey is an orbiting spacecraft designed to determine the composition of the Martian surface, to detect water and shallow buried ice, and to study the radiation environment.
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Launch Date: |
April 7, 2001 |
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Future:
Mars Exploration Rovers
In 2003, two powerful Mars rovers will be on their way to the red planet. These robotic explorers will be able to trek up to 100 meters (about 110 yards) across the surface each Martian day.
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Launch Date: |
May-July 2003 |
Arrival Date: |
January-February 2004 |
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2005 and Beyond
In 2005, NASA plans to launch a powerful scientific orbiter, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This would be part of a long-term Mars exploration program.
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Past:
Mariner 4
Mariner 4 carried out the first flyby of Mars and collected the first close-up photographs of another planet.
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Launch Date: |
November 28, 1964 |
Flyby: |
July 14, 1965 |
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Mariner 6
Mariner 6 and 7 completed the first dual mission to Mars, flying by over the equator and south polar regions and analyzing the Martian atmosphere and surface with remote sensors.
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Launch Date: |
Februrary 24, 1969 |
Flyby: |
July 31, 1969 |
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Mariner 7
Mariner 6 and 7 completed the first dual mission to Mars, flying by over the equator and south polar regions and analyzing the Martian atmosphere and surface with remote sensors.
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Launch Date: |
March 27, 1969 |
Flyby: |
August 5, 1969 |
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Mariner 9
Mariner 9 was the first artificial satellite of Mars and orbited the planet for nearly a year.
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Launch Date: |
May 30, 1971 |
Arrival: |
November 13, 1971 |
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Viking 1
The Viking Project was the first mission to land a spacecraft safely on the surface of another planet. Two identical spacecraft each had an orbiter and a lander; both orbiter-lander pairs successfully studied Mars.
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Launch Date: |
August 20, 1975 |
Arrival Date: |
June 19, 1976 |
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Viking 2
The Viking Project was the first mission to land a spacecraft safely on the surface of another planet. Two identical spacecraft each had an orbiter and a lander; both orbiter-lander pairs successfully studied Mars.
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Launch Date: |
September 9, 1975 |
Arrival Date: |
August 7, 1976 |
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Pathfinder
Mars Pathfinder, consisting of a lander and the Sojourner rover, both returned an unprecedented amount of data and outlived their primary design lives.
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Launch Date: |
December 4, 1996 |
Landing: |
July 4, 1997 |
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