Mars 3

Launch Success

Liftoff Time (GMT)

15:26:30

Friday May 28, 1971

Mission Details

Launch Notes

First probe to land successfully on Mars.

Mars 3

Wiki

Mars 3 was a robotic space probe of the Soviet Mars program, launched May 28, 1971, nine days after its twin spacecraft Mars 2. The probes were identical robotic spacecraft launched by Proton-K rockets with a Blok D upper stage, each consisting of an orbiter and an attached lander. After the Mars 2 lander crashed on the Martian surface, the Mars 3 lander became the first spacecraft to attain a soft landing on Mars, on December 2, 1971. It failed 110 seconds after landing, having transmitted only a gray image with no details. The Mars 2 orbiter and Mars 3 orbiter continued to circle Mars and transmit images back to Earth for another eight months.

Heliocentric Orbit

1 Payload

4,650 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
Proton-K/Block D

Active 1967 to 1976

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center logo

Manufacturer

Khrunichev

Rocket

Height: 56.14m

Payload to Orbit

LEO: 18,900 kg

GTO: 9,000 kg

Liftoff Thrust

8,840 Kilonewtons

Fairing

Diameter: 3.9m

Height: 8.9m

Stages

4

Launch Site

Site 81/23

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Fastest Turnaround

11 days 23 hours

Stats

Proton-K


29th

Mission

4th

Mission of 1971

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center


584th

Mission

37th

Mission of 1971

1971


53rd

Orbital launch attempt