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.	Launch Date:  November 7, 1996 Arrival:  September 12, 1997
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.	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.	Launch Date:  May-July 2003 Arrival Date:  January-February 2004
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.	Launch Date:  November 28, 1964 Flyby:  July 14, 1965
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.	Launch Date:  Februrary 24, 1969 Flyby:  July 31, 1969
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.	Launch Date:  March 27, 1969 Flyby:  August 5, 1969
Mariner 9    Mariner 9 was the first artificial satellite of Mars and orbited the planet for nearly a year.	Launch Date:  May 30, 1971 Arrival:  November 13, 1971
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.	Launch Date:  August 20, 1975 Arrival Date:  June 19, 1976
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.	Launch Date:  September 9, 1975 Arrival Date:  August 7, 1976
Pathfinder    Mars Pathfinder, consisting of a lander and the Sojourner rover, both returned an unprecedented amount of data and outlived their primary design lives.	Launch Date:  December 4, 1996 Landing:  July 4, 1997

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