Exploration of Mars | EPFL Graph Search

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The planet Mars has been explored remotely by spacecraft. Probes sent from Earth, beginning in the late 20th century, have yielded a large increase in knowledge about the Martian system, focused primarily on understanding its geology and habitability potential. Engineering interplanetary journeys is complicated and the exploration of Mars has experienced a high failure rate, especially the early attempts. Roughly sixty percent of all spacecraft destined for Mars failed before completing their missions and some failed before their observations could begin. Some missions have been met with unexpected success, such as the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which operated for years beyond their specification. there are three operational rovers on the surface of Mars, the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, both operated by the American space agency NASA, as well as the Zhurong rover, part of the Tianwen-1 mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). There are seven orbiters surveying the planet: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, the Trace Gas Orbiter, the Hope Mars Mission, and the Tianwen-1 orbiter, which have contributed massive amounts of information about Mars. Various Mars sample return missions are being planned like NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return that will pick up the samples currently being collected by the Perseverance rover. In all, there are 11 probes currently surveying Mars including the Ingenuity helicopter, which is scouting sites for Perseverance to study. The next missions expected to arrive at Mars are: The ExoMars program of ESA has delayed the launch of the Rosalind Franklin rover, until later in the 2020s. Mars Orbiter Mission 2 by India, planned launch in 2024. MarsMartian surfaceAtmosphere of Mars and Moons of Mars Mars has long been the subject of human interest. Early telescopic observations revealed color changes on the surface that were attributed to seasonal vegetation and apparent linear features were ascribed to intelligent design.

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Exploration of Mars

Lander (spacecraft)

A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards, then comes to rest on, the surface of an astronomical body other than Earth. In contrast to an impact probe, which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface, a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional. For bodies with atmospheres, the landing occurs after atmospheric entry. In these cases, landers may employ parachutes to slow them down enough to maintain a low terminal velocity.

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The Beagle 2 is an inoperative British Mars lander that was transported by the European Space Agency's 2003 Mars Express mission. It was intended to conduct an astrobiology mission that would have looked for evidence of past life on Mars. The spacecraft was successfully deployed from the Mars Express on 19 December 2003 and was scheduled to land on the surface of Mars on 25 December. ESA, however, received no communication from the lander at its expected landing time on Mars, and declared the mission lost in February 2004 after numerous attempts to contact the spacecraft were made.

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