Astronomy:List of artificial objects on Mars

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The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of Mars, consisting of spacecraft which were launched from Earth. Although most are defunct after having served their purpose, the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers are active. China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft is the most recent artificial object to land safely on Mars.

The table does not include smaller objects, such as springs, fragments, parachutes and heat shields. (As of February 2021), there are 14 missions with objects on the surface of Mars. Some of these missions contain multiple spacecraft.

List of landers and vehicles

Key
Success
Operational
Failure
Year Agency Mission Object(s) Image Mass
(kg) 		Status Location
1971 USSR Mars 2 Mars 2 lander and PrOP-M rover FP2A3620 (23497688248) (cropped).jpg 1210 Failure during descent; crashed on surface Estimated at [ ⚑ ] 45°S 313°W / 45°S 313°W / -45; -313 (Mars 2)[1]
1971 USSR Mars 3 Mars 3 lander and PrOP-M rover FP2A3620 (23497688248) (cropped).jpg 1210 Transmission failure 110 seconds after soft landing Estimated at Sirenum Terra

[ ⚑ ] 45°S 158°W / 45°S 158°W / -45; -158 (Mars 3)[2]

1973 USSR Mars 6 Mars 6 lander Mars6.gif 635 Returned corrupted data for 224 seconds during its descent but contact lost before reaching surface[3] Estimated at Margaritifer Terra

[ ⚑ ] 23°54′S 19°25′W / 23.90°S 19.42°W / -23.90; -19.42 (Mars 6)[3]

1976 NASA Viking 1 Viking 1 lander NASM-A19790215000-NASM2016-02690.jpg 657 Operated 2245 sols. Last contact Nov 11, 1982 Chryse Planitia

[ ⚑ ] 22°41′49″N 48°13′19″W / 22.697°N 48.222°W / 22.697; -48.222 (Viking 1)[4]

1976 NASA Viking 2 Viking 2 lander NASM-A19790215000-NASM2016-02690.jpg 657 Operated 1281 sols. Last contact Apr 11, 1980 Utopia Planitia

[ ⚑ ] 48°16′08″N 225°59′24″W / 48.269°N 225.990°W / 48.269; -225.990 (Viking 2)[5]

1997 NASA Mars Pathfinder Pathfinder (lander) Mars Pathfinder opens after landing.gif 360 Operated 83 sols. Last contact Sep 27, 1997[6] Ares Vallis

[ ⚑ ] 19°20′N 33°33′W / 19.33°N 33.55°W / 19.33; -33.55 (Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner)[7][8]

Sojourner (rover) 11.5
1999 NASA Mars Surveyor '98 Mars Polar Lander and

Deep Space 2 (probes)

Mars polar lander.jpg 500 Unknown failure during descent; crashed on surface Estimated at Ultimi Scopuli

[ ⚑ ] 76°S 195°W / 76°S 195°W / -76; -195 (Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2)

2003 ESA

(United Kingdom )

Mars Express Beagle 2 (lander) Beagle 2 model at Liverpool Spaceport.jpg 33.2 Landed safely; solar panels failed to deploy Isidis Planitia

[ ⚑ ] 11°31′35″N 90°25′46″E / 11.5265°N 90.4295°E / 11.5265; 90.4295 (Beagle 2 landing site)

2004 NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (rover) NASA Mars Rover.jpg 185 Operated 2210 sols. Last contact Mar 22, 2010 Gusev crater

[ ⚑ ] 14°34′18″S 175°28′43″E / 14.5718°S 175.4785°E / -14.5718; 175.4785 (Spirit rover)

Opportunity (rover) NASA Mars Rover.jpg 185 Operated 5111 sols. Last contact June 10, 2018 Meridiani Planum

[ ⚑ ] 1°56′46″S 354°28′24″E / 1.9462°S 354.4734°E / -1.9462; 354.4734 (Opportunity rover)

2008 NASA Phoenix Mars Lander Phoenix (lander) Pia09344.jpg 350 Operated 155 sols. Last contact Nov 2, 2008 Green Valley in Vastitas Borealis

[ ⚑ ] 68°13′N 125°42′W / 68.22°N 125.7°W / 68.22; -125.7 (Phoenix)

2012 NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity (rover) Curiosity - The Next Mars Rover.jpg 900 In operation, 4242 sols Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater

[ ⚑ ] 4°35′22″S 137°26′30″E / 4.5895°S 137.4417°E / -4.5895; 137.4417

2016 ESA

Roscosmos

ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli EDM (lander) Maquette EDM salon du Bourget 2013 DSC 0192.JPG 577 Crashed on impact; transmitted descent telemetry Meridiani Planum

[ ⚑ ] 2°03′S 6°13′W / 2.05°S 6.21°W / -2.05; -6.21 (Schiaparelli EDM lander crash site)

2018 NASA InSight InSight (lander) PIA22743-Mars-InSightLander-ArtistConcept-20181024.jpg 358 Reached end of designed lifespan after landing on 19 Dec, 2022. Elysium Planitia

[ ⚑ ] 4°30′09″N 135°37′24″E / 4.5024°N 135.6234°E / 4.5024; 135.6234 (InSight landing site)

2021 NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance (rover) Perseverance rover design.png 1024 In operation, 1208 sols Jezero crater

[ ⚑ ] 18°26′45″N 77°27′03″E / 18.4457°N 77.4508°E / 18.4457; 77.4508 (Perseverance landing site)

Ingenuity (helicopter) PIA23882-MarsHelicopterIngenuity-20200429 (trsp).png 1.8 Operated 1208 sols.[9] Wright Brothers Field

[ ⚑ ] 18°26′45″N 77°27′03″E / 18.4457°N 77.4508°E / 18.4457; 77.4508 (Ingenuity drop site)

2021 CNSA Tianwen-1 Tianwen-1 (lander) Zhurong-with-lander-selfie.png 1285
[citation needed] 		Reached end of designed lifespan after landing on 14 May, 2021. Utopia Planitia

[ ⚑ ] 25°06′N 109°54′E / 25.1°N 109.9°E / 25.1; 109.9 (Zhurong landing site)

Zhurong (rover) 240 Inactive due to sandstorm. Operated for 361 sols.[10]
Tianwen-1 Remote camera <1 Reached end of designed lifespan after mission completion on 1 June, 2021.

Other objects

An example of an additional object from a spacecraft landing is the metal shroud ejected by the Viking 2 lander, as seen in this 1977 view of Mars. The shroud covered the surface sampler instrument and could be seen in images taken by the lander while it was active on the surface.[11]
  • Each mission left debris according to its design. For example, the Schiaparelli EDM lander likely exploded on impact, creating an unknown number of fragments at one location. At another location, there may be a lower heat shield, and at another location, a parachute and upper heat shield. Another example is the counterweights ejected by MSL during its descent. In some cases, the nature and location of this additional debris has been determined and, in other cases, even the location of the main spacecraft has remained unknown. The identification of Beagle 2 after 11 years is one of the greatest breakthroughs yet, since prior to that, it could not be confirmed what had happened.[12] Spacecraft that have not been precisely located include Mars 2, Mars 3, Mars 6, Mars Polar Lander, and the two Deep Space 2 probes.
  • Orbiters whose orbit could eventually decay and impact the surface, include: Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Global Surveyor, Phobos 2, Mars 2, Mars 3, and Mars 5 orbiters, and Mariner 9. (See also List of Mars orbiters)
  • The fate of Mars Climate Orbiter (1999) is unknown, but it is thought to have burnt up in the atmosphere before impacting.
  • Mariner 9, which entered Mars orbit in 1971, is expected to remain in orbit until approximately 2022, when the spacecraft is projected to enter the Martian atmosphere and either burn up or crash into the planet's surface.[13]

Gallery

From surface

  • MER-A Spirit rover lander

  • MER-B Opportunity's heat shield

  • MSL Curiosity self-portrait, 2016

From orbit

  • Viking 1 lander in 2006 (HiRise)

  • Viking 2 lander in 2006 (HiRise)

  • Phoenix lander and heat-shield in 2009 (HiRise)

  • Mars Pathfinder seen from space by the MRO HiRISE

  • MER-B Opportunity lander in Eagle crater (2006)

  • Beagle 2, after 11 years found and showing that it made it to the surface but did not expand fully to transmit

  • Curiosity landing remnants

  • Schiaparelli remnants (2016)

Landing site namings and memorials

Several landing sites have been named, either the spacecraft itself or the landing site:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 2". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1971-045A. 
  2. ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 3". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1971-049A. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 6". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1973-052A. 
  4. ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Viking 1 lander". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1975-075C. 
  5. ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Viking 2 lander". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1975-083C. 
  6. ↑ "Mars Pathfinder". http://www.marsnews.com/missions/pathfinder/. 
  7. ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Pathfinder". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1996-068A. 
  8. ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Pathfinder Rover". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=MESURPR. 
  9. ↑ "After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends". https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9540/after-three-years-on-mars-nasas-ingenuity-helicopter-mission-ends/. 
  10. ↑ Cheung, Rachel (13 March 2023). "China’s Mars Rover Has Not Moved Since September, NASA Images Revealed". https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgwqpa/china-mars-rover-zhurong-space. 
  11. ↑ Mars - Viking 2 Lander
  12. ↑ "Beagle 2 spacecraft found intact on surface of Mars after 11 years". 2015-01-17. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/16/lost-beagle-2-spacecraft-found-mars. 
  13. ↑ NASA - This Month in NASA History: Mariner 9, November 29, 2011 – Vol. 4, Issue 9
  14. ↑ Soviet Craft - Mars (1960-1974)
  15. ↑ NSSDC - Viking 1 lander
  16. ↑ NSSDC - Viking 2 lander
  17. ↑ NSSDC - Mars Pathfinder
  18. ↑ NASA - Space Shuttle Challenger Crew Memorialized on Mars
  19. ↑ NASA - Space Shuttle Columbia Crew Memorialized on Mars
  20. ↑ "Curiosity Landing Site Named for Ray Bradbury". NASA. August 22, 2012. http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=150917411. 




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