Live From Mars was active July 1996-December 1997.

Past Missions to Mars

Date Name Country Spacecraft Type Comments
Oct. 10, 1960 Mars 1960A USSR Probe Did not reach Earth's orbit.
Oct. 14, 1960 Mars 1960B USSR Probe Did not reach Earth's orbit.
Oct. 24, 1962 Mars 1962A USSR Flyby Did not escape Earth's orbit.
Nov. 1, 1962 Mars 1 USSR Flyby Failed due to communications problem.
Nov. 4, 1962 Mars 1962B USSR Lander Did not leave Earth's orbit.
Nov. 5, 1962 Mariner 3 USA Flyby Was unsuccessful in its flyby attempt.
Nov. 28, 1964 - Dec. 20, 1967 Mariner 4 USA Flyby Reached Mars on July 14, 1965 and came to within 9920 km of the surface. Returned 22 surface photos and compiled data on the atmosphere.
Nov. 30, 1964 Zond 2 USSR Flyby Contact was lost when vehicle reached Mars.
Feb. 24, 1969 Mariner 6 USA Flyby Reached Mars July 31, 1969 and came to within 3437 km of equatorial region. Returned numerous pictures and measurements.
Mar. 27, 1969 Mariner 7 USA Flyby Reached Mars Aug. 5, 1969 and came to within 3351 km of South Pole region. Took over 200 photos. Analysis revealed no ozone in the atmosphere.
May 8, 1971 Mariner 8 USA Flyby Crashed in the Atlantic during lift-off.
May 10, 1971 Kosmos 419 USSR Probe A lander was released from its orbiter but crashed into the Martian surface. The orbiter returned data until 1972.
May 19, 1971 Mars 2 USSR Orbiter/Soft Lander A lander was released from its orbiter but crashed into the Martian surface. The orbiter was still able to return data until 1972.
May 28, 1971 Mars 3 USSR Orbiter/Soft Lander Reached Mars December 2, 1971 and performed the first successful landing of a terrestrial craft on Mars. Sent 20 seconds of video data to the orbiter then failed. Discovered the amount of uranium and thorium in the soil was similar to the amount found on Earth. The orbiter returned data until August 1972.
May 30, 1971-2 Mariner 9 USA Orbiter Reached Mars Nov. 3, 1971 and went into orbit Nov. 24 for about one year. This was the first US spacecraft to orbit about a planet other than the Moon. Took over 7000 photos, covering 9O% of the surface. Captured images of four giant volcanoes and led to the discovery of river- and canal-like lines on the surface.
July 21, 1973 Mars 4 USSR Orbiter Reached Mars Feb. 1974 but was unable to orbit. Returned data and images.
July 25, 1973 Mars 5 USSR Orbiter Entered orbit Feb. 12, 1974 and quit unexpectedly after two weeks. However, it did return data for future missions.
Aug. 5, 1973 Mars 6 USSR Orbiter/Soft Lander Achieved orbit around Mars on Mar. 12, 1974. Lander was launched and returned data on its way to the surface but crashed while trying to land.
Aug. 9, 1973 Mars 7 USSR Orbiter/Soft Lander Attempted to orbit Mars but failed. Lander was deployed but missed Mars.
Aug. 20, 1975 - Aug. 7, 1980 Viking 1 USA Orbiter/Lander Entered into orbit about Mars on June 19, 1976. Lander reached the surface July 20, 1976 and provided images of the terrain, monitored the surface and searched for micro-organisms. The Lander continued to collect and send data from Mars for more than six years. During this time the orbiter continued to map the surface of Mars.
Sept. 9, 1975 - July 25, 1978 Viking 2 USA Orbiter/Lander Entered into orbit about Mars on July 24, 1976. Lander reached the surface Aug. 7, 1976 and provided images of the terrain, monitored the weather and searched for micro-organisms. The orbiter continued to map the surface. Scientists are still processing Viking data in the 1990s.
July 7, 1988 Phobos 1 USSR Orbiter/Lander Sent to investigate Mars' moon, Phobos, but contact was lost on September 14, 1988.
July 12, 1988 Phobos 2 USSR Flyby/Lander Entered into orbit about Mars on Jan. 30, 1989 for six weeks. Was unable to reach Phobos and deploy its lander.
Sept. 25, 1992 Mars Observer USA Orbiter Communications were lost before Mars Observer entered into orbit around Mars.