Data from Wikipedia and NASA (C)
Mars is the
fourth planet of the solar system in order of distance from the Sun. Some its
orbital parameters, which the inclination of the spin axis and the duration of
the day, render it enough similar to the Earth; with the exception of this last
one, however, Mars has a rarefied atmosphere, a superficial medium temperatures
more lowlands and a dimensions reduced (its diameter is only the half of that
earthling).
History
Mars, after
Venus, is the planet more easy observable from the Earth, because of the great
relative brightness and the characteristic red color. For this reason the
ancient populations associated it to the image of Ares/Marte, God of the fire
and the war. It was on ending of XVIII century, however, than careful
observations they concurred the discovery of the two natural satellites, Phobos
and Deimos, asteroids probably captured from the gravity of the planet. The
existence of such satellites had been postulated for a long time, a lot that
beyond a century ago by and means first Jonathan Swift: he cited some approximated
orbital data in his “Travels of Gulliver2. In the same period a wrong
translation of the jobs of Schiaparelli, an Italian astronomer, carried the
scientific world to believe that on Mars there were artificial channels, while
effectively the scientist had only spoken about large furrows on the surface.
The expectations of the great public came disregarded when, in 1965, the probe
Mariner 4 caught up for the first time the planet, not finding signs of
constructions. The first landing of automatic probes happened eleven years
after, with the missions Viking I and II, but they did not come found traces of
life or organic compounds in surface. At ending of the past century Mars has
been newly goal of numerous probes, European and Americans, that they have
carried to a meaningful improvement of our acquaintances on the planet.
Observations from Earth
Observation
from Earth Because of the orbital period the planet turns out in opposition
(and therefore easy observable) only every two years approximately. While
because of the orbital eccentricity its relative distance varied to every
opposition determining small and great oppositions, with a diameter appearing
from 13,5 to 25 second ones of arc. The Mars observation is tied closely to the
conditions of osservability of the planet, that is based on the type of
opposition: if apheliacal or perielical; the strong variation of diameter in
fact concurs different observative abilities. In the best conditions (the
maximum diameter, the maximum height from the horizon, conditions weather etc.)
the planet show clearly, with a telescope of 200 milimeter, the icecaps,
various superficial details, and even the clouds in suspension. Periodically
the surface is interested from intense phenomena of sandstorms because of the
termobariche variations of the atmosphere. Various from the Earth, these
phenomena interest totally the planet in its globality, raising powder and
hiding the superficial vision. In this case for entire weeks it is not possible
with the telescope to find some detail. The Mars icecaps show obvious
variations age. Dependent from the season, can be observed a narrowing or an
expansion of the iced structure. Through opportune techniques it is possible to
execute measures of the regression and to assess its variation numerically. Often
is possible to observe cloudy structures. Many of they have a various origin,
some are produced from the variations of temperature for starting of the day or
the night, while others are typical clouds of some regions like peaks of
caldere volcanic (Olimpus Mount) or depressions (river basin of Hellas).
Some of these phenomena dissolve in few hours.
Orbital parameters
Orbital
parameters Mars orbit around the Sun to a medium distance of approximately 228
million km (1,52 astronomical units); because of the discreet eccentricity of
its orbit, equal to 0,09336, its distance from the Earth to the opposition can
oscillate between approximately 100 and approximately 56 million km. The period
of revolution of the planet is equal to 686,979 land days; the plan of the
orbit is approximately 1,85° from that one of the ecliptic. Mars has a mass
equal to 11% of that earthling; its equatorial radius measures 3393 km. The Mars mass is
equal to 0,107 times that earthling, and its volume is equal to 0,150 times
that one of the Earth. The equatorial diameter of the planet is 6787 km (with a polar
crushing of 1% approximately) and its medium density is 3,95 times that one of
the water. The Martian rotation axis is tilted of 25° 11', while its period of rotation
around the axis is of 24 h 37 min 25 s: both values are similar to the
correspondents earth’s parameters.
Atmosphere
The Martian
atmosphere is made up mainly of carbon dioxide (95%), nitrogen (2.7%), argon
(1.6%), watery vapor, oxygen and carbon monoxide. The medium atmospheric
pressure is of 7 millibars. They are present atmospheric perturbations as
sandstorms (that they wrap also the entire planet and they last months), that
gives place to phenomena of erosion of cliffs. The Mars atmosphere, because of
the low gravity of the planet, is extremely rarefied and completely lacking in
the lighter gases; the pressure found from the automatic probes sended on the
planet is approximately 7-9 hPa in the deeper depressions (the medium pressure
of the earth’s atmosphere, for comparison, is of 1015 hPa). Previous
observations of the Mars transits in front of stars, carried out from Earth,
already before space era had suggested them a similar situation. The atmosphere
appears rich of powders that confer them a characteristic coloration
orange-brown when observed from the surface of the planet; the data recorded
from the Mars Exploration Rover indicate a medium dimension of particles
suspended of approximately 1.5 micrometers. The ozone lack allows to the solar lethal
ultraviolet radiations for every shape of known life, to catch up the surface.
In March of the 2004 measurements of the orbiting probe European Mars Express
have officially confirmed the presence of methane in the Martian atmosphere,
with one volumetric concentration of approximately 10 parts for billion. The
presence of a similar gas, highly unstable, renders necessary to still suppose
the existence of a process of regeneration of methane in course or however
happened in the past centuries; they have been assumed a volcanic, cometary or
biological origin (with the presence of microorganisms metanogeni), but they
lack confirmations experiences them to support of the theories. The scientists
are currently trying to characterize some secondary members who could reveal
the origin of methane, like the ethane, than on the Earth is generated from the
oceans contextually to methane of biological origin, or dioxide of sulfur,
associated to the volcanic activity. The aspect of the Martian atmosphere varied
meaningfully with the cycle of the seasons; in the winter months, when the
poles are constantly protected from the solar light, the skin temperature
diminishes so that a quarter of the atmosphere condenses and throws down under iced
carbon dioxide shape (dry ice); to increasing of the insolation the CO2 evaporates,
generating strong winds directed towards the tropical regions of the planet,
that they can run up 400 hour kilometers. A secondary effect of the atmospheric
circulation is the transport of a great amount of powders and vapor of water,
that they carry to the formation of particularly numerous and imposing cirri,
photographed from the American earth module Opportunity.
Surface
The greater
part of southern Mars hemisphere is constituted from a only, immense plateau
that has many craters from impact. The Mars structure has similitude and
remarkable differences with the Earth. The Mars surface does not seem enlivened
from the energy that that characterized the Earth. In short, Mars does not have
a crust subdivided in plates, and therefore the tettonic to sods of the land
model turns out inapplicable to such planet. The volcanic activity has been
much intense one, like testifies the imposing presence volcanos. The greater
one of they is the Mount
Olympus, than, with a
base of 600 km
and an elevation equal to approximately 24 km regarding surrounding plains, it is the
greater volcano of the solar system. It is much similar one to volcanos to
shield of the Hawaii
islands, originated from the emission for longest times of very fluid lava. One
of the reasons for which such great volcanic buildings are present is that, for
the note, the Martian crust is lacking in mobility of the tettonic plates. This
means that the 'hot points' from which exits the magma that strike in surface
the magma always the same zones of the planet, without movements in the million
course activity years (as instead it happens on the Earth). The reduced force
of gravity has sure facilitated the lava, than on Mars it has a weight like the water on the Earth. This has
rendered possible a easier gone back from subground and a more width and
massive spread on the surface. A gigantic canyon, along a 5000 km, wide 500 km and deep 5/6 km
crosses the planet at the Equator and takes the name of Valles Marineris, and
is the only structure vaguely similar to those observed in XIX century and
considered then one of the greatest mistakes of modern astronomy. Its presence
just constitutes a true breack on the surface of Mars, and its enormous
structure, he is not clearly what can have produced it: sure not the erosion
given from atmospheric agents or water. The structure of this canyon is such to
make to seem very small the Grand Canyon American. The earth’s equivalent would
be, dimensionally speaking, a canyon from London
to Capetown, with depth of the order of the 10 km. This concurs to
understand as such canyon it has a considerable importance for the Mars
structure, and as it is not classifiable with famous cases on the Earth. The
Mars surface appeared sin from the first explorations by means of automatic
probes like complex and geologically diversified. While the south hemisphere is
covered from great craters and it is risen above the topographical level of
reference, the north hemisphere is poor of crater and is situated generally
under such level (the atmospheric pressure corresponds for convention to the
quote where is 6,1 hPa). The hemisphere south mainly is made up of a full of
rocks crust much ancient, crossed from numerous natural channel long hundreds
of km and wide some ten; locally they are plains of more recent origin. The north
hemisphere has volcanic formations of remarkable dimensions, with solid flows
of lava, numerous escarpments and canyon, and a generally diversified and
varied landscape. The main region of the hemisphere, center of great volcanos,
is Tharsis, an immense mill that is risen until 10 km on the surrounding land
and that it gives origin to the greater part of the visible superficial
fractures. The presence of iced water on Mars is widely testified in sediments
of the polar regions, under the carbon dioxide caps and under the shape of
permafrost, until 3 km
of depth. The superficial layer of the planet is composed mainly from silicati
and iron oxide, beyond to other compounds that can quickly damage eventual
organic materials. The analyses of the automatic probes on the planet have
confirmed that for long periods the planet was covered from rivers and that
wide extended they were submergeeed, perhaps also for a billion of years. The
analyses carried out from the probe Mars Express have revealed that the ice
present to the South Pole if melted could cover the surface of the planet with
nine meters of water. However the ice present to the South Pole is not sufficient
to explain the extend erosions of the surface and therefore the scientists are
searching others boxes of water or other phenomena that can explain the
erosions of the surface. The medium skin temperature is approximately 210K (~-60°C), and varies with
the season and the latitude from minims of 140K (~-130°C) in the polar
regions, in winter, to 300K (~20°C) in the equatorial regions, in summer.
Nomenclature
The
nomenclature of the Martian surface is based on an original system deriving
from the historical observations conduct from Schiaparelli and Lowell, which
created maps of the planet in which they still defined names (in use) of the main conformations. The
Martian nomenclature, follows the maps created from the first observatories of
the planet. Three first maps in which are defined the names of the surface of
the planet are to 1877 Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli, which it determined and
it described the main conformations gaining the names from ancient people
(Ausonia), gods, geographic places (Syrtis Major, Benacus Lacus), mitological
(Cerberus, Gorgonium Sinus) etc. Other maps like those of Lowell (1894),
Antoniadi (1909), De Mottoni (1957). Subsequently the nomenclature has been
approved from the IAU and officially introduced in order to identify the
Martian places.
Inner structure
The nucleus
of iron and solfuro of iron of Mars, probably extends for a radius of
approximately 1600-1700 km;
it is covered from a dense cape and a
thick crust. A lot probably the nucleus is not liquid; consequently Mars does
not has an appreciable magnetic field neither geologic activity. This involves
the lack of defense that the Earth’s magnetosphere give to the ground of the
planet from the cosmic particle with high energy, but the thing partially is
mitigated from the greater distance from the Sun, that it renders less violent the
consequences of its activity. Analogous to other known rocks planets, Mars has
typically an inner structure composed from a central nucleus, from a cape and a
superficial crust. The information in our possession are however fragmentary; a
better understanding of the inner structure of the red planet could contribute
to make clarity on the mechanisms that could have generated its atmosphere, on
the possible presence of life on Mars and the planetary evolution of rocks
planets in a generalized manner. Ill-fatedly, the lack of sismological data
prevents one detailed acquaintance of the Mars inside; however, thanks to the
measurements of the moment of inertia of Mars carried out from the probe space
American Mars Pathfinder have been possible to assess that the nucleus of the
planet, composed from denser materials regarding the cape, has a beam comprised
between 1500 and 2100 km.
The CNES, the agency space them French, are planning the shipment on the
surface of Mars of four small automatic probes, Netlanders, in order to carry
out sismological analysis on the planet. The probes would have to be
transported from a orbiter of French fabrication and to land in various points
of the planet, so as to record the differences of intensity of earthquakes and
the average speed of propagation of the sismic waves in the land. One thinks
that Mars is center of approximately a thousand of sismic events pro year of
magnitudo three (on the Richter scale), and at least a pair of events of
magnitudo five. Beyond allowing the measure of the radius of the Martian
nucleus with an uncertainty of approximately 5 km, the sismic data will
concur to estimate the chemical composition of the nucleus and the liquid or solid
nature of the material that composes it; the measurements of the inertia moment
suggest a presence of iron, like in the case of the Earth, but the sulfur
presence is not excluded, that it would lower the density and the melting point
of the mixture. On the Earth, the presence of a rotary liquid ferromagnetic
nucleus is responsible of the geomagnetic field; Mars, to the contrary, does
not introduce a magnetic field of relief. Also not excluding the presence of a
liquid nucleus, however, this is a strong indication to favor of the presence
of a solid inner nucleus.
Natural satellites
The planet has
two natural satellites, Phobos, from the diameter of approximately 27 km, and Deimos, than
measures approximately 10 km.
Phobos is destined, in a period of time estimated in some million years, to
approach itself the planet more and more until exceeding the limit of Roche and
disintegrating themselves for effect of the intense tidial forces. The names of
the satellites mean, in Greek language, fear and fright; they are the aspects of
the war, represented from the Greek God Ares, Mars.
Mars exploration
The
missions spaces them on Mars has been numerous, since years 60 when they have
shown for the first time the true aspect of the planet, has allowed to better
comprise the origin and the evolution of the surface and the atmosphere of the
planet. However regarding the numerous missions it spaces carried out them
until today, the huge successes go place side by side to the many failures of losses
and technical disadvantages. Also for this reason the planet maintains its
fascination and its mystery alive. The Mars exploration has been an important
part of the exploration missions spaces them of the Soviet Union, the United States, Europe and Japan. Since
years ' 60 have been sended towards Mars dozens of vehicles without crew, that
they included orbiter, lander and rover, in order to collect dats and to answer
to questions on the red planet and its past, that they could carry to ulterior
discoveries for the past, present and future of the Earth. The Mars exploration
has caught up considerable financial costs with a amount of failed missions of
approximately two thirds of the missions totals. This high rate failures can be
chargeed to the great number of factors that can go bad, even if some losses of
communications or failures which had to no appearing cause have carried some
investigators to speak, playfully, of a Great Galactic Ghoul whose diet would
consist of Martian probes. This phenomenon widely is known like the Malediction
of Mars. The space program Soviet launch two probes for the flyby towards Mars
in October 1960, nicknamed Mars 1960A and Mars 1960B, but both failed in
catching up the land orbit. In 1962, others three Soviet probes failed - two in
the Earth’s orbit and one interrupted the communications while it was travelling
toward Mars (Mars 1). In 1964, the probe Zond 2 was an other attempt failed in
catching up Mars. In 1974 Mars 5 it caught up Mars and sended beyond sixty
images of the area to south of the Valles Marineris, before the end of the
mission. In 1964 the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA carried out two tried
you to catch up Mars. The probes 3 Mariner and Mariner 4 were identical and
their scope was that one to carry out first flyby of the red planet. Mariner 3
came launch 5 November 1964 but the protecting cover did not succeed to open
itself. Three weeks after, 28 November 1964, succeeding the probe Mariner 4. It
caught up Mars the 14 July 1965, giving the first images near of an other
planet. They showed craters from impact similar to those lunar ones, some of
which seemed covered of frost or ice. NASA continued the Mariner program with
an other pair of probes for flyby (the 6 Mariner and Mariner 7), that they
caught up the planet in 1969. During the following window of launch the Mariner
program endured the loss of an other pair of probes. Mariner 9 entered with
happening in the Mars orbit, after the failure of the launch of the twin probe
Mariner 8. Mariner 9, together to the two Soviet probes Mars 2 and Mars 3 found
enormous sandstorm in course. The mission controllers used the remaining time
in the wait that the storm was attenuated in order to photograph the moon Phobos.
Later Mariner 9 photographed the Mars surface, that they supplied ulterior
indications between which the possibility that a time was present water in the
liquid state. In 1969 the Soviet Union
prepared an ambitious orbiter called M-69. Two copies of this probe came lost
during the launch, that it came carried out through the new and powerful Proton
rocket. In 1971, after the failure of the probe Cosmos 419, the Soviet Union sended
Mars 2 and Mars 3, nearly a decade after the launch of Mars 1. Both transported
a lander and arrived on Mars in 1971. The lander of Mars 2 entered in the
Martian atmosphere with a too much narrow angle and came destroyed, while the
lander of Mars 3 only worked for 20 second after the landing. They were the
first human artefacts to touch Mars. In 1973 the Soviet
Union sended other four probes: the orbiters Mars 4 and Mars 5 and
the probes flyby with landers Mars 6 and Mars 7. Only Mars 5 had success: it
transmitted 60 images before having an breakdown to the communications. The
lander of Mars 6 transmitted only data during the landing but the contacts got
lost how it landed. The others two probes (4 Mars and Mars 7) lacked the
planet. In the 1976 the two probes Viking entered in the Mars orbit and both
sended a lander that succeeding a soft landing on the surface of the planet.
These two missions sended the first images to colors and detail given
scientific data. The temperatures measured in the places of landing varied
between 150 and 250 K (between -123 °C and -23 °C). They came
observed sandstorms, changes of atmospheric pressure and atmospheric gas movements
between the icecaps. A experiment produced a possible test of life, but it was
not confirmed from other experiments. The greater part of the scientists thinks
that currently not there is life on the planet. While orbiter Viking 1 was
trying a landing point adapted for the lander, on 25 July 1976 photographed a
zone that came nicknamed the "face on Mars". In 1988 the Soviet Union launch the probes Phobos 1 and 2 in order to study Mars and
the moons Phobos and Deimos. The communications with Phobos 1 were interrupted
while it was trawelling towards Mars, while Phobos 2 succeeded to photograph
Mars and Phobos; however the mission failed before sending two lander on the
surface of Phobos. After the failure of 1992 of the orbiter Mars Observer, NASA
launch the Mars Global Surveyor 7 November 1996. This was the first succeeded
mission of the United States
in two decades and the first success in absolute. It gone in orbit the 12
september 1997, after a year began the mapping in March 1999. The probe
observed the planet from one low altitude, neighbor to a polar orbit along an
entire Martian year (equivalent to approximately two Earth’s years). The
mission was completed on 31 January 2001 and now is in a phase of extension. It
has been studied the entire surface of the planet, its atmosphere and the
collected data have are greater than all the other previous probes. Between the
most important scientific data, the Global Surveyor has sended images of
channels and detritus that suggest the possibility of liquid water source on
the surface. Similar channels are formed on the Earth from water flows, but on
Mars the temperature is generally too much low and the atmosphere is too much
tenuous in order to support liquid water. However some scientists have assumed
that liquid superficial water can sometimes emerge in surface, dig channels and
throats and flows later on under to the land before freezing and evaporating.
The data of the magnetometer indicated that the magnetic field of the planet is
not totally generated from the inner nucleus, but is localized in particular
areas of the crust. The new data on the temperature and images near of the moon
Phobos have shown that its surface is constituted from a dusty layer of 1 meter, often provoked
from meteorites impacts during million years. The data of the altimeter laser
have supplied the first three-dimensional visual of the icecap of the
hemisphere North. The probe Mars Pathfinder, launched a month after the Global
Surveyor, landed the 4 July 1997. The landing zone was an ancient fluvial plain
in the north hemisphere called Ares Vallis, that it is between the fuller of
rocks zones of the planet. The probe comprised a small rover controlled from
remote called Sojourner, that it travelled for some meters around the site of landing
studying cliffs. The rover explored the Mars surface in a way that had been
executed previously from the two rover Lunokhod Russian on the Moon 30 years
before. Until the moment of the last transmission the 27 september 1997, the
Mars Pathfinder sended 16500 images from lander and 550 images from the rover,
beyond to 16 chemistries analyses of cliffs and the ground and details data on
the winds and other meteorological factors. These data suggested to the
scientists that in some moment of the past the planet could have been warm and
humid, and could have possessed water to the liquid state and a denser
atmosphere. After the successes of the Global Surveyor and the Pathfinder,
between 1998 and the 1999 there was an other series of failures: The Japanese orbiter Nozomi, the Mars Climate
Orbiter, the Mars Polar Lander and the penetratori Deep Space 2 of NASA did not
carry to end the mission. The regarding episode the Mars Climate Orbiter is
particularly ill-famed, had to the lack of conversion between unit of measure
of the Decimal Metric System them and the imperial system. In this way they
came generates wrong data that they made to burn the probe during the income in
the Martian atmosphere. In the 2001 misfortune ended with orbiter the Mars
Odyssey of NASA. During the mission it came used spectrometers and cameras in
order to try the tests of existence of water and the volcanic activity of the
planet. In 2002 it came announced that the spectrometer X rays and the
spectrometer to neutrons had found large quantity of hydrogen, that indicated
the presence of goes of iced water under to the Martian land within 60° of
latitude from the South Pole. The 2 june the 2003 probe Mars Express of the ESA
came launch from the cosmodromo of Baikonur towards Mars. It was constituted
from orbiter Mars Express and lander Beagle 2. Even if the lander it was not
planned in order to move, it was endowed of a device that allowed to dig the
ground, the smallest mass spectrometer of every time and other devices mounts
on a robotic arm for being able to accurately analyze the ground under the dusty
surface. The orbiter on 25 December 2003 entered in orbit and the same day the
lander entered in the Mars atmosphere. However the tried to contact the lander
failed. They lasted during the month of January and in February the lander it
came declared dispersed. Mars Orbiter Express confirmed the presence of iced
water and iced carbon dioxide water in the South Pole of the planet. NASA had
previously confirmed their presence also in the North Pole. Little after the
launch of Mars Express, NASA sended one couple of rover twin. The Rover Spirit
(MER-A) came launch on 10 june 2003 and landed in the crater Gusev (than it was assumed was in the past a lake)
and rover Opportunity (MER-B) it came launch the 7 July 2003 and landed on 24 January
2004 in
the Planum Meridians. Both carried out geologic searches. Except a temporary
loss of communications with Spirit (than it is believed has been caused from a
problem to the memory flash), that slowed down the exploration of various days,
both the rover continued the exploration in respects landing places. The Rover
Opportunity in particular landed in a decidedly interesting place: a crater
with cliff outcrops. The members of the team announced on 2 March that the data
sended from the rover showed as those cliffs had been in past dipped in the water
and 23 March came assumed that being had to be submergeeed in a salted sea.
This is the first strong test of a last liquid water presence on Mars. To
August 2006, both the rover are active and carry out new discoveries (between
which the first uncovered meteorite on an other planet, called Heat Shield
Rock), even if they begin to show the signs of the time and demand occasional help
from Earth. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a multipurpose probe planned
in order to lead a recognition and a exploration of Marsfrom the orbit. It came
constructed to the cost of 720 million dollars from the Lockheed Martin under
the supervision of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was launch on 12 August
2005. On 12 March 2006 has entered in the Mars orbit. The MRO contains
scientific instruments like the HiRISE camera, CRISM and SHARAD. The HiRISE
room will come used in order to analyze the Martian land, while CRISM and SHARAD
will try water, ice and minerals on and under the surface. Moreover the MRO
will smooth the road to the future probes seeing the meteorological conditions
and of the surface, trying new places of landing and testing a new system of
telecommunicationses that will allow to the exchange of information to a speed
never caught up previously. The transfer of data towards and from the probe
will come carried out more fastly than all the other previous interplanetary
missions and will come used like an important satellite repeater for the future
missions. The next mission on Mars is the lander Phoenix, launch in the August of 2007 that
would have to arrive on 25 May 2008. It would have to be followed from the rover
Mars Science Laboratory in 2009 and is previewed also an other mission in 2011
(Mars 2011). Later NASA plans to send a rover in the mission Astrobiology Field
Laboratory in 2016. Russia
is planning the launch of the probe Phobos-Grunt in 2009. The ESA has given to
the way to the program Dawn, a plan in the long term having objective the
development of strategies of exploration of Mars also with missions with crew.
The three main missions of the plan will be: in the 2007 Earth Re-Entry Vehicle
Demonstrator (EVD) that he will serve in order to verify the technical
feasibility of the mission Mars Sample Return (you see beyond), in the 2009
ExoMars mission that will consist of a rover and in the 2011 mission Mars
Sample Return (MSR) that will collect cliffs and data of the ground and for the
first time will bring back them on the earth where they will come analyzes to
you. He follows a table of all the spaces missions on Mars conduct from the
countries (red-adapt NASA source), adjourned on 16 August 2005.
|
Missione
|
Paese
|
Data del lancio
|
Scopo
|
Risultati
|
|
Marsnik 1 (Mars 1960A)
|
Russia
|
10 ottobre 1960
|
flyby di Marte
|
non ha raggiunto l'orbita terrestre
|
|
Marsnik 2 (Mars 1960B)
|
Russia
|
14 ottobre 1960
|
flyby di Marte
|
non ha raggiunto l'orbita terrestre
|
|
Sputnik 22
|
Russia
|
24 ottobre 1962
|
flyby di Marte
|
raggiunta solo orbita terrestre
|
|
Mars 1
|
Russia
|
1 novembre 1962
|
flyby di Marte
|
guasto alla radio a 106 milioni di km
|
|
Sputnik 24
|
Russia
|
4 novembre 1962
|
flyby di Marte
|
raggiunta solo orbita terrestre
|
|
Mariner 3
|
USA
|
5 novembre 1964
|
flyby di Marte
|
mancata apertura dello scudo protettivo
|
|
Mariner 4
|
USA
|
28 novembre 1964
|
primo flyby di Marte il 14 luglio
1965
|
inviate 21 foto
|
|
Zond 2
|
Russia
|
30 novembre 1964
|
flyby di Marte
|
arrivato a Marte, ma un guasto alla radio ha impedito
di ricevere qualunque dato
|
|
Mariner 6
|
USA
|
24 febbraio 1969
|
flyby di Marte il 31 luglio
1969
|
inviate 75 foto
|
|
Mariner 7
|
USA
|
27 marzo 1969
|
flyby di Marte il 5 agosto
1969
|
inviate 126 foto
|
|
Mariner 8
|
USA
|
8 maggio 1971
|
Mars orbiter
|
lancio fallito
|
|
Kosmos 419
|
Russia
|
10 maggio 1971
|
Mars lander
|
raggiunta solo l'orbita terrestre
|
|
Mars 2
|
Russia
|
19 maggio 1971
|
orbiter/lander arrivato il 27 novembre
1971
|
nessun dato utile, lander distrutto
|
|
Mars 3
|
Russia
|
28 maggio 1971
|
Mars orbiter/lander, arrivato il 3 dicembre
1971
|
qualche dato e poche foto
|
|
Mariner 9
|
USA
|
30 maggio 1971
|
Mars orbiter, in orbita dal 13 novembre
1971
al 27 ottobre
1972
|
inviate 7.329 foto
|
|
Mars 4
|
Russia
|
21 luglio 1973
|
l'orbiter ha fallito la missione
|
volo vicino a Marte 10 febbraio
1974
|
|
Mars 5
|
Russia
|
25 luglio 1973
|
orbiter, arrivato il 12 febbraio
1974
|
durato pochi giorni
|
|
Mars 6
|
Russia
|
5 agosto 1973
|
orbiter/lander, arrivato il 12 marzo
1974
|
pochi dati
|
|
Mars 7
|
Russia
|
9 agosto 1973
|
orbiter/lander, arrivato il 9 marzo
1974
|
pochi dati
|
|
Viking 1
|
USA
|
20 agosto 1975
|
orbiter/lander, in orbita 19 giugno/76-1980, al suolo 20 luglio/76-1982
|
i due Viking (orbiter e lander) hanno inviato più di
50.000 foto
|
|
Viking 2
|
USA
|
9 settembre 1975
|
orbiter/lander, in orbita 7 agosto/1976-1987, al suolo 6 settembre/1976-1980
|
i due Viking (orbiter e lander) hanno inviato più di
50.000 foto
|
|
Phobos 1
|
Russia
|
7 luglio 1988
|
orbiter/lander su Marte e Fobos
|
persi in agosto nell'avvicinamento a Marte
|
|
Phobos 2
|
Russia
|
12 luglio 1988
|
Mars/Phobos orbiter/lander
|
perso nel marzo 1989 nei pressi di Fobos
|
|
Mars Observer
|
USA
|
25 settembre1992
|
orbiter
|
perso poco prima di arrivare su Marte, il 21 agosto
1993
|
|
Mars Global Surveyor
|
USA
|
7 novembre 1996
|
orbiter, arrivato il 12
settembre 1997
|
Missione primaria di mappatura terminata, estesa la
sua missione
|
|
Mars 96
|
Russia
|
16 novembre 1996
|
orbiter e landers
|
lancio fallito
|
|
Mars Pathfinder
|
USA
|
4 dicembre 1996
|
lander e rover, atterrati il 4 luglio
1997
|
Primo rover su Marte. Ultima trasmissione 27
settembre 1997
|
|
Nozomi (Planet-B)
|
GIA
|
4 luglio 1998
|
orbiter, attualmente in orbita intorno al Sole
|
arrivo su Marte posticipato al dicembre 2003 causa
problemi alla propulsione
|
|
Mars Climate Orbiter
|
USA
|
11 dicembre 1998
|
orbiter
|
perso all'arrivo su Marte il 23
settembre 1999
|
|
Mars Polar
Lander
Deep Space 2
|
USA
|
3 gennaio 1999
|
lander/sonde di discesa per esplorare il polo sud
marziano
|
perso all'arrivo il 3 dicembre
1999
|
|
Mars Odyssey
|
USA
|
7 aprile 2001
|
orbiter
|
in corso missione primaria di mappatura scientifica
|
|
Mars Express
|
UE
|
2 giugno 2003
|
orbiter/rover
|
Sonda operativa, rover disperso
|
|
Mars Exploration Rover
|
USA
|
7-10 giugno
2003
|
2 rover: Spirit e Opportunity
|
analisi del pianeta, operativa
|
|
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
|
USA
|
12 agosto 2005
|
Mars orbiter
|
analisi del pianeta
|
