Mars Phoenix Lander successfully landed on the Red Planet Mars on Sunday 25th May 2008, Phoenix will be the first spacecraft to study the Martian arctic plains and Phoenix landed farther north on Mars than any previous mission, at a site expected to have ice-rich permafrost beneath the surface, but within reach of the lander's robotic arms, which are used to search for signs of life, past or present. Of 11 previous attempts that various nations have made to land spacecraft on Mars, only five have succeeded. Nasa's Mars Exploration Mission before Phoenix :
Month and Year | Name of Mission | Remark |
Nov 1964 | Mariner 3 | Failed to jettison its shroud after launch. |
Nov 1964 | Mariner 4 | Made first successful Mars flyby in July 1965 and returned 21 photos. |
Feb 1969 | Mariner 6 | Flied past Mars in July 1969 and returned 75 photos. |
Mar 1969 | Mariner 7 | Flied past Mars in August 1969 and returned 126 photos. |
May 1971 | Mariner 8 | This Mars orbiter failed during launch. |
May 1971 | Mariner 9 | This orbiter successfully reached Mars orbit in November 1971, and operated till October in 1972. It returned 7,329 photos to Earth. |
Aug 1975 | Viking 1 | The complex of Mars orbiter and lander arrived at Mars orbit in June 1976. The lander touched down on Mars in July 1976. Orbiter operated till 1980, and lander till 1982. |
Sep 1975 | Viking 2 | The second complex of Mars orbiter and lander arrived at Mars orbit in August 1976. The lander touched down in September 1976. Orbiter operated till 1987, and lander till 1980. Combined, the Viking orbiters and landers returned more than 50,000 photos. |
Sep 1992 | Mars Observer | Lost just before Mars arrival in August 1993. |
Nov 1996 | Mars Global Surveyor | This Mars orbiter arrived at Mars orbit in September 1997, conducted a high-detail mapping to Mars, and the last communication to Earth occurred in November 2006. |
Dec 1996 | Mars Pathfinder | A complex of Mars lander and rover landed in July 1997, and last transmission occurred in September 1997. |
Dec1998 | Mars Climate Orbiter | Lost upon arrival in September 1999. |
Jan 1999 | Mars Polar Lander | It has Deep Space 2 microprobes: the lander and two probes lost just on arrival in December 1999. |
Mar 2001 | Mars Odyssey | The orbiter arrived at Mars orbit in October 2001, currently conducting extended science mission and providing relay for Mars Exploration Rovers. |
Jun 2003 | Mars Exploration Rover Spirit | Landed in January 2004 for three-month prime mission inside Gusev Crater, currently conducting extended mission. |
July 2003 | Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity | Landed following Spirit in January 2004 for three-month prime mission in Meridiani Planum region, currently conducting extended mission. |
Aug 2005 | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | Began orbiting in March 2006, currently conducting primary science phase; has provided data that include more than 25,000 images and 3,500 radar observations. The mission has returned more total data than produced by all previous Mars missions combined. |
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