Mars -- the 4th planet
Missions
Launch (Mariner 4): November 28, 1964
Flyby (Mariner 4): July 14, 1965
Mass: 261 kilograms (575 pounds)
Science instruments: Camera with digital tape recorder (about 20 pictures), instruments studying cosmic dust, solar plasma, trapped radiation, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, radio occultation and celestial mechanics.
Launch: February 24, 1969 (Mariner 6); March 27, 1969 (Mariner 7)
Mars Flyby: July 31, 1969 (Mariner 6); August 5, 1969 (Mariner 7)
Mass: 413 kilograms (908 pounds)
Science instruments: Wide- and narrow-angle Cameras with Digital Tape Recorder, Infrared Spectrometer and Radiometer, Ultraviolet Spectrometer, Radio Occultation and Celestial Mechanics Experiments
Launch (Mariner 9): May 30, 1971
Arrival (Mariner 9): November 13, 1971
Mass: 998 kilograms (2,200 pounds)
Science instruments: Wide- and narrow-angle cameras with digital tape recorder, infrared spectrometer and radiometer, ultraviolet spectrometer, radio occultation and celestial mechanics instruments
Launch: August 20, 1975 (Viking 1); September 9, 1975 (Viking 2)
Arrival: June 19, 1976 (Viking 1); August 7, 1976 (Viking 2)
Mass: 2,325 kilograms (5,125 pounds) with fuel
Science instruments: High-resolution Camera, Atmospheric Water-vapor Mapper, Surface Heat Mapper, Occultation Experiment
Landers
Landing: July 20, 1976 (Viking 1); September 3, 1976 (Viking 2)
Mass: 576 kilograms (1,270 pounds)
Science instruments: Biology instrument, gas chromatograph/mass
spectrometer, X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, seismometer, meteorology
instrument, stereo color cameras, physical and magnetic properties of soil,
aerodynamic properties and composition of Martian atmosphere with changes in
altitude
Launch: September 25, 1992
Mass: 2,573 kilograms (5,672 pounds)
Science instruments: High-resolution Camera, Thermal Emission Spectrometer, Laser Altimeter, Magnetometer/Electron Reflectometer, Pressure Modulator Infrared Radiometer, Gamma Ray Spectrometer, Radio Science Experiment
Launch: December 4, 1996
Landing: July 4, 1997
Mass: 895 kilograms (1,973 pounds) at launch, fueled
Science instruments: Imager; Magnets for measuring magnetic properties of soil; Wind socks; Atmospheric structure instrument/meteorology package
Rover
Mass: 10.6 kilograms (23 pounds)
Science instruments: Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer, three Cameras
(also technology experiments)
Launch: December 11, 1998
Mass: 629 kilograms (1,387 pounds), fueled
Science instruments: Pressure modulator infrared radiometer, color imager
Launch: January 3, 1999
Mass: 576 kilograms (1,270 pounds), fueled
Science instruments: Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (integrated package with surface imager, robotic arm with camera, meteorology package, and thermal and evolved gas analyzer); Mars Descent Imager; Lidar (including Mars microphone)
Deep Space 2
Mass: 3,572 grams (7.9 pounds)
Science instruments: Sample collection/water detection experiment, soil
thermal experiment, atmospheric descent accelerometer, impact accelerometer
Launch: November 7, 1996
Arrival: September 12, 1997
Mass: 767 kilograms (1,691 pounds)
Science instruments: High-resolution Camera, Thermal Emission Spectrometer, Laser Altimeter; Magnetometer/Electron Reflectometer, Ultra-stable Oscillator, Radio Relay System
Launch: April 7, 2001
Arrival: October 24, 2001
Mass: 758 kilograms (1,671 pounds), fueled
Science instruments: Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE)
Launch: June 2003
Arrival: December 2003
Mass: 1,042 kilograms (2,297 pounds)
Science instruments: Energetic Neutral Atoms Analyzer, Geochemical Lander, High/Super Resolution Stereo Color Imager, Radio Science, Subsurface Sounding Radar/Altimeter, Infrared Mineralogical Mapping Spectrometer, Planetary Fourier Spectrometer, Ultraviolet and Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer
Launch: June-July 2003
Arrival: January 2004
Science instruments: Panoramic Camera, Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer, Mössbauer Spectrometer, Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer, Microscopic Imager