List of artificial objects on Mars
An example of an additional object from a spacecraft landing is the metal shroud ejected by the Viking 2 lander, as seen in this 1977 view of Mars. The shroud covered the surface sampler instrument and could be seen in images taken by the lander while it was active on the surface.[1]
The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of Mars, consisting of spacecraft which were launched from Earth. Most are defunct after having served their purpose, but the Opportunity and the Curiosity rovers are still operational as of 2016. Curiosity 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 November 5, 2016, there are about 14 spacecraft missions on the surface of Mars: some of these missions have multiple spacecraft.
Legend
| Colors | |
|---|---|
| No data collection | |
| Transmitted data | |
| Operational | |
Table of objects
In this listing, it is implied that 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 happen.[2] Spacecraft that have not been precisely located include Mars 2, Mars 3, Mars 6, Mars Polar Lander, and the two Deep Space 2 probes.
| Artificial object | Image | Nationality | Landed | Mass (kg) | Status | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mars 2 |  |
USSR | 1971 | 1210 | Failure during descent; crashed on surface | Estimated @ 45°S 313°W / 45°S 313°W [3] |
| Mars 3 | |
USSR | 1971 | 1210 | Transmission failure 14.5 seconds after soft landing | Estimated @ Sirenum Terra, 45°S 158°W / 45°S 158°W [4] |
| Mars 6 |  |
USSR | 1973 | 635 | Returned corrupted data for 224 seconds during its descent but contact lost before reaching surface[5] | Estimated @ Margaritifer Terra, 23°54′S 19°25′W / 23.90°S 19.42°W [6] |
| Viking 1 lander |  |
United States | 1976 | 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 [7] |
| Viking 2 lander | |
United States | 1976 | 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 [8] |
| Mars Pathfinder lander & Sojourner rover |  |
United States | 1997 | 360 | Operated 83 sols. Last contact Sep 27, 1997[9] | Ares Vallis, 19°20′N 33°33′W / 19.33°N 33.55°W [10][11] |
| Mars Climate Orbiter |  |
United States | 1999 | 629 | Destroyed by atmospheric stresses & friction.[12] | Unknown |
| Mars Polar Lander & Deep Space 2 |  |
United States | 1999 | 500 | Unknown failure during descent; crashed on surface | Estimated @ Ultimi Scopuli, 76°S 195°W / 76°S 195°W [13][14] |
| Beagle 2 |  |
United Kingdom | 2003 | 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 |
| Spirit rover (MER-A) |  |
United States | 2004 | 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 [15][16] |
| Opportunity rover (MER-B) | |
United States | 2004 | 185 | Still in operation, 4579 sols | Meridiani Planum, 1°56′46″S 354°28′24″E / 1.9462°S 354.4734°E [17][18] |
| Phoenix Mars Lander |  |
United States | 2008 | 350 | Operated 155 sols. Last contact Nov 2, 2008 | Vastitas Borealis, unofficially named Green Valley, 68°09′N 125°54′W / 68.15°N 125.9°W [19] |
| Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) |  |
United States | 2012 | 900 | Still in operation, 1546 sols | Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater, 4°36′0″S 137°12′0″E / 4.60000°S 137.20000°E |
| Schiaparelli EDM lander |  |
Europe (ESA) Russia (Roscosmos) |
2016 | 577 | Likely crashed on impact; transmitted descent telemetry | Meridiani Planum |
| Total estimated mass (kg) | 9,880 | |||||
- Orbiters that could eventually enter (see Orbital decay) include (for example): Viking 1 and 2 orbiters, MRO, 2001MO, ME, MGS, Phobos 2, Mars 2, Mars 3, and Mars 5 orbiters, and Mariner 9. (see also List of Mars orbiters) There is a proposal to search for small moons, dust rings, and old orbiters with the Optical Navigation Camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.[20]
- Mariner 9, which entered Mars orbit in 1971, 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.[21]
Examples (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) |
|
 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).[22]
- Thomas Mutch Memorial Station, the Viking 1 lander (1976).[23]
- Gerald Soffen Memorial Station, the Viking 2 lander (1976).[24]
- Carl Sagan Memorial Station, Mars Pathfinder (Sojourner) base (1997).[25]
- Challenger Memorial Station, MER-B (Opportunity) landing site area (2004).[26]
- Columbia Memorial Station, MER-A (Spirit) landing site area (2004).[27]
- Green Valley, the Phoenix lander (2008).
- Bradbury Landing, Curiosity Rover landing site (August 6, 2012).[28] (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))
Interactive imagemap of the global topography of Mars, overlain with locations of memorial sites on Mars (Yellow label = Named memorial site; Blue label = possible debris site; ? = precise location is not known). Hover your mouse to see the names of over 25 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Reds and pinks are higher elevation (+3 km to +8 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevation (down to −8 km). Whites (>+12 km) and browns (>+8 km) are the highest elevations. Axes are latitude and longitude; Poles are not shown.
(also see: Mars map & Mars Rovers map) (view • discuss)
See also
- Exploration of Mars
- Life on Mars
- List of artificial objects on extra-terrestrial surfaces
- List of extraterrestrial memorials
- List of missions to Mars
- Timeline of planetary exploration
References
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 2". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 3". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 6". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Viking 1 lander". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Viking 2 lander". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "Mars Pathfinder". Retrieved 2011-12-07.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Pathfinder". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Pathfinder Rover". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Climate Orbiter". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Polar Lander". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Deep Space 2". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Spirit Rover (MER-A)". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "ESA Mars Express - Spirit Rover landing site image and coordinates". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Opportunity Rover (MER-B)". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ Squyres, S. W.; Arvidson, R. E.; Bollen, D.; Bell, J. F.; Brückner, J.; Cabrol, N. A.; Calvin, W. M.; Carr, M. H.; Christensen, P. R.; Clark, B. C.; Crumpler, L.; Des Marais, D. J.; d'Uston, C.; Economou, T.; Farmer, J.; Farrand, W. H.; Folkner, W.; Gellert, R.; Glotch, T. D.; Golombek, M.; Gorevan, S.; Grant, J. A.; Greeley, R.; Grotzinger, J.; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Hviid, S.; Johnson, J. R.; Klingelhöfer, G.; Knoll, A. H.; et al. (2006). "Overview of the Opportunity Mars Exploration Rover Mission to Meridiani Planum: Eagle Crater to Purgatory Ripple" (PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research. 111. doi:10.1029/2006JE002771. E12S12. Retrieved 2010-12-24. Opportunity Rover (MER-B) coordinates on pg. 2.
- ↑ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Phoenix Mars Lander". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
- ↑ M. Adler, et al. – Use of MRO Optical Navigation Camera .. (2012)
- ↑ NASA - This Month in NASA History: Mariner 9, November 29, 2011 – Vol. 4, Issue 9 Archived May 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Soviet Craft - Mars (1960-1974)
- ↑ NSSDC - Viking 1 lander
- ↑ NSSDC - Viking 2 lander
- ↑ NSSDC - Mars Pathfinder
- ↑ NASA - Space Shuttle Challenger Crew Memorialized on Mars
- ↑ NASA - Space Shuttle Columbia Crew Memorialized on Mars
- ↑ "Curiosity Landing Site Named for Ray Bradbury". NASA. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
Interactive imagemap of the global topography of Mars, overlain with locations of Mars landers and rovers (Red label = Rover; Blue label = Lander; bold red/blue = currently active). Hover your mouse to see the names of over 25 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Reds and pinks are higher elevation (+3 km to +8 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevation (down to −8 km). Whites (>+12 km) and browns (>+8 km) are the highest elevations. Axes are latitude and longitude; Poles are not shown.
(also see: Mars map & Mars Memorials & Mars Memorials map) (view • discuss)
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