Mission, Country, Launch Date, Purpose, Results

[Unnamed], USSR, 10/10/60, Mars flyby, did not reach Earth orbit

[Unnamed], USSR, 10/14/60, Mars flyby, did not reach Earth orbit

[Unnamed], USSR, 10/24/62, Mars flyby, achieved Earth orbit only

Mars 1, USSR, 11/1/62, Mars flyby, radio failed at 106 million km (65.9 million miles)

[Unnamed], USSR, 11/4/62, Mars flyby, achieved Earth orbit only

Mariner 3, U.S., 11/5/64, Mars flyby, shroud failed to jettison

Mariner 4, U.S. 11/28/64, first successful Mars flyby 7/14/65, returned 21 photos

Zond 2, USSR, 11/30/64, Mars flyby, passed Mars but radio failed, returned no planetary data

Mariner 6, U.S., 2/24/69, Mars flyby 7/31/69, returned 75 photos

Mariner 7, U.S., 3/27/69, Mars flyby 8/5/69, returned 126 photos

Mariner 8, U.S., 5/8/71, Mars orbiter, failed during launch

Kosmos 419, USSR, 5/10/71, Mars lander, achieved Earth orbit only

Mars 2, USSR, 5/19/71, Mars orbiter/lander arrived 11/27/71, no useful data, lander destroyed

Mars 3, USSR, 5/28/71, Mars orbiter/lander, arrived 12/3/71, some data and few photos

Mariner 9, U.S., 5/30/71, Mars orbiter, in orbit 11/13/71 to 10/27/72, returned 7,329 photos

Mars 4, USSR, 7/21/73, failed Mars orbiter, flew past Mars 2/10/74

Mars 5, USSR, 7/25/73, Mars orbiter, arrived 2/12/74, lasted a few days

Mars 6, USSR, 8/5/73, Mars orbiter/lander, arrived 3/12/74, little data return

Mars 7, USSR, 8/9/73, Mars orbiter/lander, arrived 3/9/74, little data return

Viking 1, U.S., 8/20/75, Mars orbiter/lander, orbit 6/19/76-1980, lander 7/20/76-1982

Viking 2, U.S., 9/9/75, Mars orbiter/lander, orbit 8/7/76-1987, lander 9/3/76-1980; combined,

the Viking orbiters and landers returned 50,000+ photos

Phobos 1, USSR, 7/7/88, Mars/Phobos orbiter/lander, lost 8/89 en route to Mars

Phobos 2, USSR, 7/12/88, Mars/Phobos orbiter/lander, lost 3/89 near Phobos

Mars Observer, U.S., 9/25/92, lost just before Mars arrival 8/21/93

Mars Global Surveyor, U.S., 11/7/96, Mars orbiter, arrived 9/12/97, made high-detail maps of

planet through 1/00, now conducting extended mission

Mars 96, Russia, 11/16/96, orbiter and landers, launch vehicle failed

Mars Pathfinder, U.S., 12/4/96, Mars lander and rover, landed 7/4/97, last transmission 9/27/97

Nozomi (Planet-B), Japan, 7/4/98, Mars orbiter, currently in orbit around the Sun; Mars arrival delayed to 12/03 due to propulsion problem

Mars Climate Orbiter, U.S., 12/11/98, lost upon arrival 9/23/99

Mars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2, U.S., 1/3/99, lander and soil probes, lost upon arrival 12/3/99