Mars Exploration Timeline – From Then to Now

Key takeaways

There has been a consistent burning curiosity behind the answers for these questions that has formed the crux of major space explorations for more than a century.
After the disastrous end of the Mars Polar Lander, the Mars Odyssey Orbiter was launched on April 7, 2001.
If indeed, our planetary neighbor is truly capable of being habitable for mankind, it will change the entire course of human civilization and what we perceive to be normal.

Is Earth the only planet that houses life? #

Does life exist in the other planets in the solar system? #

Are the conditions on other planets, particularly Mars, suitable for living beings? #

There has been a consistent burning curiosity behind the answers for these questions that has formed the crux of major space explorations for more than a century. Ever since the Soviets launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into space in 1957, space explorations have become a major area of research. Post Sputnik 1, the U. S. launched Explorer 1 in 1958, and from then on commenced a series of spaceflights, from the Vostok series to the Apollo series, and satellite launches to discover the further marvels of space.

While a lot of these missions have been centered on orbiting the Earth and setting foot on the moon, the Mars mission considerably varied in its goals. Targeted at finding out if life existed on the Red Planet, numerous vital programs have been planned for Mars exploration since 1960. In the paragraphs below, we enumerate an extensive timeline of the various Mars exploration missions, from the first to the latest, with a tentative scenario of what the future holds.

Quick Snippets: #

· The United States, the European Space Agency, the Soviet Union, and India are the ones that have successfully launched spacecraft to enter Mars’ orbit.

· The Soviet Union made a Mars landing in 1971 and 1973.

· So far, there have been nine successful U. S. landings on Mars – starting from Viking 1 and Viking 2 in 1976, Pathfinder in 1997, Spirit and Opportunity both 2004, to Phoenix in 2008, Curiosity in 2012, InSight in 2018, and the latest, Perseverance in 2021.

· The Soviet Union and the United States are the only two nations that have landed a spacecraft on Mars.

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When did it all Begin? #

Scientists have been sending numerous missions to Mars since 1960, in a bid to unearth more information about the planet that used to be seemingly aplenty with water. Naturally, it has been considered as the next best equivalent to our planet. Not surprisingly, it was the Soviet Union that made numerous attempts in the 1960s to reach Mars, soon followed by NASA.

Beginning October 10, 1960, the Soviet Union launched the Marsnik 1 spacecraft, which was unfortunately destroyed and failed to reach Earth orbit. Within a mere 4 days, another spacecraft called Marsnik 2 was launched on October 14, 1960, which again got destroyed during the launch. On October 24, 1962, the USSR launched Sputnik 22 for an intended Mars flyby. This one, unlike the previous two, at least made it to Earth’s orbit, however it was destroyed soon after it did.

A week later, on November 1, 1962, the Soviet Union launched Mars 1 that achieved the Earth’s orbit and even travelled beyond. However, communication with the aircraft was lost on March 21, 1963, when it was around 106 million kilometers away from Earth. Another spacecraft, Sputnik 24, was launched on November 4, 1962, that achieved the Earth orbit but exploded during the change of trajectory toward Mars.

After Sputnik 24, 1963 did not witness the launch of any new spacecraft until Mariner 3, which the U. S. had launched on November 5, 1964. Merely an hour after the launch, Mariner 3 faced an issue with its solar panels. Eventually, its batteries died and exploration failed.

The Timeline since the First Successful Mars Mission: #

1965-1976 #

After several of these unsuccessful missions, the Mars exploration program tasted success for the first time in July 14, 1965, when Mariner 4 flew by Mars – around 9,650 kilometers of the planet. The spacecraft was the first to take close-up photos of Mars’ surface – reportedly, about 21 photos of the planet were sent back to Earth at the time. Though the mission was successful in 1965, Mariner 4 was launched on November 28, 1964.

The USSR sent a spacecraft Fond 2, almost immediately after, however, it lost radio communication and the mission failed.

The next successful mission was in 1969, when Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 passed through within about 4,000 kilometers of Mars and transmitted valuable information. It is interesting to note that these missions recorded cratered areas of the planet, enabling scientists to conclude that Mars’ appearance of very much like the moon.

Post this mission, the next couple of years saw a lull in the Mars exploration program – the USSR launched Mars 1969A and Mars 1969B in March and April 1969 respectively, both of which failed. Further, on May 8, 1971, U. S. launched the Mariner 8, while on May 10, 1971, the USSR launched the Cosmos 419. Both the missions failed due to technical issues.

After these programs, NASA launched the Mariner 9 on November 3, 1971 – this turned out to be successful and the spacecraft touched the Mars orbit on November 24. The USSR then launched Mars 3 on December 2, 1971 – yet another successful mission for 1971. Mars 3 was the first successful lander for USSR, having transmitted data for 20 seconds before failing.

The year 1973 turned out to be very successful for the Soviet Union. It launched Mars 4 on July 21, 1973, which flew by Mars on February 10, 1974. Ironically, Mars 4 was only intended to orbit the red planet; however, it did keep going. Further, on July 25, 1973, the Soviet Union launched Mars 5 that orbited the planet on February 12, 1974, albeit for a few days.

On August 5, 1973, the USSR launched Mars 6 with a flyby module and lander that touched Mars on March 3, 1974. Unfortunately, the lander exploded on impact. Merely 4 days later, the USSR sent out another spacecraft, Mars 7, again with a flyby module and lander. This one arrived on Mars on March 3, 1974 as well, though the lander missed the planet.

The next spacecraft to make history were Viking 1 and Viking 2 in 1975, sent by NASA. Viking 1’s lander touched Mars’ surface on July 20, 1976, while Viking 2’s lander touched Mars on September 3, 1976. While both sent their wanders to the planets surface, the orbiter was functional above. The launch of the Vikings was profoundly significant, given that they both remained there for years and had been transmitting substantial amount of information back to Earth.

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The 1990s #

The period after 1976 until the late 1980s represented a not-so-significant time for the space community. Somewhere in the 1980s, the USSR attempted to reach one of Mars’ moons, Phobos; unfortunately, both its missions failed. The 1990s however, was a period of major change. Enhanced technological advancements led to better spacecraft production; increasing penetration of electronics and better chip manufacturing ensured that more space missions would now be on the cards.

The first Mars mission in the 1990s was on September 25, 1992, when NASA launched the Mars Observer. Unfortunately, NASA lost contact with the spacecraft in August 1993. The general consensus regarding the reason was a fuel tank rupture that may have caused the spacecraft to lose contact with Earth. It was quite a setback for that time, since the Mars Observer mission cost a mammoth USD 813 million back at the time.

Come November 1996, the Mars Global Surveyor was launched, that reached the planet nearly a year later, on September 1997, and commenced its orbit. The last time it was heard from, was on November 2, 2006.

On July 4, 1997, the Mars Pathfinder landed on the Red Planet post six months of travel. It explored the planetary surface for four months and returned photographs to Earth. After that, the next mission of the 1990s was on December 11, 1998, when the Mars Climate Orbiter was launched. However, the spacecraft was lost on arrival in September 1999. Possibly, this happened due to a measurement error.

After the December launch, the Mars Polar Lander was sent to the Red Planet on January 3, 1999. Unfortunately, it lost communication by December that year. As per NASA, the spacecraft is likely to have been destroyed on impact with Mars’ surface.

The Years Post the Millennium: 2000-2021 #

After the disastrous end of the Mars Polar Lander, the Mars Odyssey Orbiter was launched on April 7, 2001. It reached Mars’ surface on October 24 that year.

On June 2, 2003, the European Space Agency launched the Beagle 2 lander and the Mars Express Orbiter. The former was expected to land on Mars on December 25, 2003; however, it never made contact with the planet. The Mars Express Orbiter entered the Mars orbit and was expected to study Mars for two years.

On June 10, 2003, the rover called Spirit was launched by NASA, as a part of its Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed on Mars on January 3, 2004 and returned photographs back to Earth. A month later, on July 7, 2003, NASA launched the rover named Opportunity from Cape Canaveral, again, as a part of its Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed on Mars in early 2004 and commenced its mission to study the planet for signs of water and life.

On February 2, 2004, both rovers, both Spirit and Opportunity were fully operational and were noted to collect soil samples on Mars in addition to taking photographs of the planetary surface. Both were able to find evidence of ancient environments that were habitable. Spirit however, lost all communication on March 22, 2010, while the last communication heard from Opportunity was on June 10, 2018.

On August 12, 2005, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched with the intention of searching the planet for more signs of water. The next year, on March 10, 2006, the Reconnaissance Orbiter reached Mars and entered its orbit. This mission was rather significant on account of the fact that the orbiter carried one of the most powerful cameras to ever leave Earth. Named HiRise, the camera took its first four photographs on March 23, and until January 24, 2007, it was known to have continued its mission of exploring the planet.

NASA launched the Phoenix Mars Lander on August 4, 2007, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft was launched with the intention to analyze soil samples on Mars and scan the planets atmosphere. It was expected to take around 10 months to reach Mars. On May 25, 2008, it landed near the planets North Pole, successfully completing a 296-day journey. It was said to have conducted scientific investigations for around 149 days out of its 152-solar-day lifetime.

On September 10, 2010, scientists unveiled some of the information they received from the Mars Phoenix Lander, which indicated that water has been a part of the Martian environment through ages. The data also claimed that the carbon dioxide content on Mars has been replenished on account of the volcanic eruptions on the planet.

On April 6, 2011 Curiosity, another rover, much larger than its predecessors, Spirit and Opportunity (it weighed around 900 kilograms) was unveiled and launched on November 26the same year. It landed on Mars on August 6, 2012.

On September 21, 2014, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission) spacecraft entered Mars’ orbit after 10 months of launch. This was the first Mars mission that was dedicated to studying the upper Martian atmosphere so as to provide a better understanding of the planets environment, climate patterns, and habitability.

On September 24, 2014, India successfully launched the Mars Orbiter Mission. It became the first Asian country to send a spacecraft to Mars and also the first nation to reach the Red Planet on its very first attempt. As of 2015, it completed its 160-day mission and was still operational.

On January 16, 2015, NASA announced that Beagle 2, launched in 2003 and believed to have lost contact, had been spotted on Mars. Apparently, its solar panels had not opened up upon landing, thereby hindering communication.

On March 14, 2016, the European Space Agency launched a module called Schiaparelli with its ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, to detect atmospheric gases on Mars that may possibly indicate that biological life exists on the planet. Schiaparelli was originally expected to enter Mars’ orbit on October 19; however, it crashed while landing.

On May 5, 2018, NASA launched the first outer space robotic explorer – InSight (for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport), on a two-year exploration mission, to study the interior of Mars. InSight landed on the north of the Martian equator on November 26, 2018, where five other spacecraft launched by NASA had already been hovering on and above Mars.

On June 7 the same year, NASA announced that Mars contains organic matter – this was detected in the soil samples collected from the mudstone (which is incidentally as old as 3 billion years) in the Gale crater by the Curiosity rover. Curiosity has also detected methane in the Martian atmosphere.

On July 25, 2018, scientists from the Italian Space Agency published a study which claimed that the southern polar ice caps of Mars had a lake of liquid water beneath. This was detected thanks to the European Space Agency’s MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) instrument.

While communication with Opportunity was already lost in June 2018, NASA made it official only on February 13, 2019, thereby ending the Opportunity mission.

On July 30, 2020, NASA launched the Perseverance rover and its Ingenuity helicopter into space, with the aim to look out for microfossils in the rocks and soil on Mars. It landed at the Jezero Crater on Mars on February 18, 2021 and began taking photographs. Perseverance will be exploring the Jezero Crater, which incidentally, was the site of an ancient lake that was in existence more than 3.9 billion years earlier. Ingenuity helicopter on the other hand, successfully completed its first ever powered, controlled flight on Mars, on April 19, 2021. On July 25, 2021, during its tenth flight, it completed its first mile, setting a new record height.

Last year on February 9, 2021, the UAE (United Arab Emirates) launched its first mission to Mars. The Emirates Mars Mission, called Hope Probe, successfully entered the orbit of Mars on its first attempt and sent back a signal to confirm the same.

On May 14, 2021, China landed its Zhurong rover on Mars, becoming the second nation to have a rover on the planet. The year 2021 was more noteworthy for the participation of the UAE and China in space missions and the successful landing of Perseverance that will continue collecting samples on Mars and return them via further follow-up missions.

What Does the Future Hold? #

In the years to come, many more missions to Mars have been planned, majorly revolving around how habitable the planet is for human civilization to flourish. There have already been several reports from these earlier programs that claim the existence of water and other elements on this planet.

On September 26, 2013 for example, the Science journal published around five articles pertaining to Mars, revealing information that indicated the planets surface to contain about two percent water by weight. Reconfirming the theory, on September 28, 2015, NASA announced that life-giving water still flows across the planets surface periodically – thereby reigniting hopes that at some point, humans may be able to thrive on the planet.

On September 29, 2017, Melon Musk, at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia, said that his company SpaceX plans to land at least two cargo ships on Mars in 2022 with the aim of creating a life support ecosystem on the planet, complete with power and mining, to be of convenience for future spacecraft. The ships carrying the crews may arrive by 2024, he further added.

Another exploration program scheduled for 2022 is the ExoMars Program – a couple of missions, led by the Roscosmos State Corporation and the European Space Agency. One of this is to discover if life existed on Mars, and the second mission is the 2022 ExoMars Rover and Surface Platform that may be launched between August and October of 2022 from Kazakhstan. It is scheduled to land on Mars around nine months later and will deliver a European rover called ‘Rosalind Franklin’, through a Russian lander called ‘Kazachok’.

How successful the space research community will be in determining the surety of life existence on Mars, is yet to be seen. Soon enough though, it is expected that there will be missions carrying the first humans into space. If indeed, our planetary neighbor is truly capable of being habitable for mankind, it will change the entire course of human civilization and what we perceive to be normal.

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