How many exploration missions were to Mars?
Table of Contents
50 spacecraft missions
This is a list of the 50 spacecraft missions (including unsuccessful ones) relating to the planet Mars, such as orbiters and rovers.
What country landed on Mars first?

Soviet Union’s
Soviet Union’s Mars 3, which landed in 1971, was the first successful Mars landing. As of May 2021, Soviet Union, United States and China have conducted Mars landing successfully.
What were the most important Mars missions?
The Most Successful Missions To Mars
Rank | Spacecraft | Launch date |
---|---|---|
1 | Mariner 4 | 28 November 1964 |
2 | Mariner 6 | 25 February 1969 |
3 | Mariner 7 | 27 March 1969 |
4 | Mariner 9 | 30 May 1971 |
Why was Mars chosen for the exploration?
Searching for life on Mars Mars is an excellent place to investigate this question because it is the most similar planet to Earth in the Solar System. Evidence suggests that Mars was once full of water, warmer and had a thicker atmosphere, offering a potentially habitable environment.

What is the current mission to Mars?
The latest robotic explorer to land on Mars as part of NASA’s ongoing Mars 2020 missions is a rover called Perseverance. The rover is designed to explore the Martian surface looking for signs of past and present life on the planet to contribute to NASA’s Mars Exploration Programme’s science goals.
Which countries are successful in Mars mission?
The United States, the Soviet Union, the European Space Agency and India have successfully sent spacecraft to enter Mars’ orbit.
What was the most successful Mars mission?
Viking 1 & 2 Viking 2 spacecraft launched Sept. 9, 1975, and its lander touched down on Sept. 3, 1976. The Viking craft proved to be a huge success, and provided the most complete view of Mars at the time, producing over 50,000 photos of the planet.
What is NASA’s goal for Mars?
The mission of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover focuses on surface-based studies of the Martian environment, seeking preserved signs of biosignatures in rock samples that formed in ancient Martian environments with conditions that might have been favorable to microbial life.
Why we shouldn’t go to Mars?
The consequence of this lack of protection is a longer exposure to these rays which are deadly to the human body. Astronauts living on Mars would be subject to 50 times more radiation than humans living on Earth. This amount of radiation can create dangerous cancers.
How many Mars missions have there been?
Mars has a reputation as a difficult space exploration target; just 25 of 55 missions through 2019, or 45.5%, have been fully successful, with a further three partially successful and partially failures. [citation needed] However, of the sixteen missions since 2001, twelve have been successful and eight of these are still operational.
How many missions are on Mars?
– Curiosity (NASA, 2012). Currently operational. – Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity (NASA, 2003). Currently operational. – Beagle 2 (ESA, 2003). Lander made it to the surface but lost contact. – Phoenix (NASA, 2007). Successfully landed and operated for most of a year. – Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (NASA, 2003). – Mars Polar Lander (NASA, 1999).
What is the current Mars mission?
The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover mission is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The mission addresses high-priority science goals for Mars exploration, including key questions about the potential for life on Mars. Perseverance takes the next step by not only seeking signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past, but also searching for signs of past microbial life itself.
What spacecraft visited Mars?
– Mariner 9 Mars Orbiter – Cassini Saturn Orbiter – Mars Global Surveyor – TOPEX/Poseidon Earth Orbiter – Ulysses Solar Polar Orbiter – Jason Earth Orbiter – Mars ’01 Orbiter – Magellan Venus Orbiter – Mars Observer a spacecraft lost