List of artificial objects on Mars
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The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of Mars, consisting of spacecraft which were launched from Earth. Although most are defunct after having served their purpose, the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers are active. China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft is the most recent artificial object to land safely on Mars.
The table does not include smaller objects, such as springs, fragments, parachutes and heat shields. As of February 2021[update], there are 14 missions with objects on the surface of Mars. Some of these missions contain multiple spacecraft.
List of landers and vehicles
| Success | |
| Operational | |
| Failure |
| Year | Agency | Mission | Object(s) | Image | Mass (kg) | Status | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | USSR | Mars 2 | Mars 2 lander and PrOP-M rover | 1210 | Failure during descent; crashed on surface | Estimated at 45°S 313°W/45°S 313°W/ -45; -313(Mars 2) | |
| 1971 | USSR | Mars 3 | Mars 3 lander and PrOP-M rover | 1210 | Transmission failure 110 seconds after soft landing | Estimated at Sirenum Terra 45°S 158°W/45°S 158°W/ -45; -158(Mars 3) | |
| 1973 | USSR | Mars 6 | Mars 6 lander | 635 | Returned corrupted data for 224 seconds during its descent but contact lost before reaching surface | Estimated at Margaritifer Terra 23°54′S 19°25′W/23.90°S 19.42°W/ -23.90; -19.42(Mars 6) | |
| 1976 | NASA | Viking 1 | Viking 1 lander | 657 | Operated 2245 sols. Last contact Nov 11, 1982 | Chryse Planitia 22°41′49″N 48°13′19″W/22.697°N 48.222°W/ 22.697; -48.222(Viking 1) | |
| 1976 | NASA | Viking 2 | Viking 2 lander | 657 | Operated 1281 sols. Last contact Apr 11, 1980 | Utopia Planitia 48°16′08″N 225°59′24″W/48.269°N 225.990°W/ 48.269; -225.990(Viking 2) | |
| 1997 | NASA | Mars Pathfinder | Pathfinder (lander) | 360 | Operated 83 sols. Last contact Sep 27, 1997 | Ares Vallis 19°20′N 33°33′W/19.33°N 33.55°W/ 19.33; -33.55(Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner) | |
| Sojourner (rover) | 11.5 | ||||||
| 1999 | NASA | Mars Surveyor '98 | Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2 (probes) | 500 | Unknown failure during descent; crashed on surface | Estimated at Ultimi Scopuli 76°S 195°W/76°S 195°W/ -76; -195(Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2) | |
| 2003 | ESA (UK) | Mars Express | Beagle 2 (lander) | 33.2 | Landed safely; solar panels failed to deploy | Isidis Planitia 11°31′35″N 90°25′46″E/11.5265°N 90.4295°E/ 11.5265; 90.4295(Beagle 2 landing site) | |
| 2004 | NASA | Mars Exploration Rover | Spirit (rover) | 185 | Operated 2210 sols. Last contact Mar 22, 2010 | Gusev crater 14°34′18″S 175°28′43″E/14.5718°S 175.4785°E/ -14.5718; 175.4785(Spirit rover) | |
| Opportunity (rover) | 185 | Operated 5111 sols. Last contact June 10, 2018 | Meridiani Planum 1°56′46″S 354°28′24″E/1.9462°S 354.4734°E/ -1.9462; 354.4734(Opportunity rover) | ||||
| 2008 | NASA | Phoenix Mars Lander | Phoenix (lander) | 350 | Operated 155 sols. Last contact Nov 2, 2008 | Green Valley in Vastitas Borealis 68°13′N 125°42′W/68.22°N 125.7°W/ 68.22; -125.7(Phoenix) | |
| 2012 | NASA | Mars Science Laboratory | Curiosity (rover) | 900 | In operation, 4867 sols | Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater 4°35′22″S 137°26′30″E/4.5895°S 137.4417°E/ -4.5895; 137.4417 | |
| 2016 | ESA Roscosmos | ExoMars 2016 | Schiaparelli EDM (lander) | 577 | Crashed on impact; transmitted descent telemetry | Meridiani Planum 2°03′S 6°13′W/2.05°S 6.21°W/ -2.05; -6.21(Schiaparelli EDM lander crash site) | |
| 2018 | NASA | InSight | InSight (lander) | 358 | Reached end of designed lifespan after landing on 19 Dec 2022. | Elysium Planitia 4°30′09″N 135°37′24″E/4.5024°N 135.6234°E/ 4.5024; 135.6234(InSight landing site) | |
| 2021 | NASA | Mars 2020 | Perseverance (rover) | 1024 | In operation, 1833 sols | Jezero crater 18°26′45″N 77°27′03″E/18.4457°N 77.4508°E/ 18.4457; 77.4508(Perseverance landing site) | |
| Ingenuity (helicopter) | 1.8 | Operated 1833 sols. | Wright Brothers Field 18°26′45″N 77°27′03″E/18.4457°N 77.4508°E/ 18.4457; 77.4508(Ingenuity drop site) | ||||
| 2021 | CNSA | Tianwen-1 | Tianwen-1 (lander) | 1285 [citation needed] | Reached end of designed lifespan after landing on 14 May 2021. | Utopia Planitia 25°06′N 109°54′E/25.1°N 109.9°E/ 25.1; 109.9(Zhurong landing site) | |
| Zhurong (rover) | 240 | Inactive due to sandstorm. Operated for 361 sols. | |||||
| Tianwen-1 Remote camera | <1 | Reached end of designed lifespan after mission completion on 1 June 2021. |
Other objects
- Each mission left debris according to its design. For example, the Schiaparelli EDM lander likely exploded on impact, creating an unknown number of fragments at one location. At another location, there may be a lower heat shield, and at another location, a parachute and upper heat shield. Another example is the counterweights ejected by MSL during its descent. In some cases, the nature and location of this additional debris has been determined and, in other cases, even the location of the main spacecraft has remained unknown. The identification of Beagle 2 after 11 years is one of the greatest breakthroughs yet, since prior to that, it could not be confirmed what had happened. Spacecraft that have not been precisely located include Mars 2, Mars 3, Mars 6, Mars Polar Lander, and the two Deep Space 2 probes.
- Orbiters whose orbit could eventually decay and impact the surface, include: Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Global Surveyor, Phobos 2, Mars 2, Mars 3, and Mars 5 orbiters, and Mariner 9. (See also List of Mars orbiters)
- The fate of Mars Climate Orbiter (1999) is unknown, but it is thought to have burnt up in the atmosphere before impacting.
- Mariner 9, which entered Mars orbit in 1971, is expected to remain in orbit until approximately 2022, when the spacecraft is projected to enter the Martian atmosphere and either burn up or crash into the planet's surface.
Gallery
From surface
- MER-A Spirit rover lander
- MER-B Opportunity's heat shield
- MSL Curiosity self-portrait, 2016
From orbit
- Viking 1 lander in 2006 (HiRise)
- Viking 2 lander in 2006 (HiRise)
- Phoenix lander and heat-shield in 2009 (HiRise)
- Mars Pathfinder seen from space by the MRO HiRISE
- MER-B Opportunity lander in Eagle crater (2006)
- Beagle 2, after 11 years found and showing that it made it to the surface but did not expand fully to transmit
- Curiosity landing remnants
- Schiaparelli remnants (2016)
Landing site namings and memorials
Several landing sites have been named, either the spacecraft itself or the landing site:
- Pennants of Soviet Union on Mars 2 and Mars 3 landers (1971).
- Thomas Mutch Memorial Station, the Viking 1 lander (1976).
- Gerald Soffen Memorial Station, the Viking 2 lander (1976).
- Carl Sagan Memorial Station, Mars Pathfinder (Sojourner) base (1997).
- Challenger Memorial Station, MER-B (Opportunity) landing site area (2004).
- Columbia Memorial Station, MER-A (Spirit) landing site area (2004).
- Green Valley, the Phoenix lander (2008).
- Bradbury Landing, Curiosity rover landing site (August 6, 2012). (Note: Due to the nature of the landing system, there is no actual space hardware at the touchdown location of Bradbury Landing, see Curiosity (rover))
- InSight Landing, the InSight lander (2018)
- Octavia E. Butler Landing, Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter landing site (February 18, 2021)
- Wright Brothers Field, the initial take-off and landing site for the Ingenuity helicopter, used for five flights (April, May 2021)
- Three Forks Sample Depot, backup sample Depot of Perseverance cached samples for return to Earth by NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return Mission (2022)
