Every Mission to Mars in One Visualization
Timeline: A Historical Look at Every Mission to Mars
Within our Solar System, Mars is one of the most similar planets to Earth—both have rocky landscapes, solid outer crusts, and cores made of molten rock.
Because of its similarities to Earth and proximity, humanity has been fascinated by Mars for centuries. In fact, it’s one of the most explored objects in our Solar System.
But just how many missions to Mars have we embarked on, and which of these journeys have been successful? This graphic by Jonathan Letourneau shows a timeline of every mission to Mars since 1960 using NASA’s historical data.
A Timeline of Mars Explorations
According to a historical log from NASA, there have been 48 missions to Mars over the last 60 years. Here’s a breakdown of each mission, and whether or not they were successful:
| # | Launch | Name | Country | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1960 | Korabl 4 | USSR (flyby) | Failure |
| 2 | 1960 | Korabl 5 | USSR (flyby) | Failure |
| 3 | 1962 | Korabl 11 | USSR (flyby) | Failure |
| 4 | 1962 | Mars 1 | USSR (flyby) | Failure |
| 5 | 1962 | Korabl 13 | USSR (flyby) | Failure |
| 6 | 1964 | Mariner 3 | US (flyby) | Failure |
| 7 | 1964 | Mariner 4 | US (flyby) | Success |
| 8 | 1964 | Zond 2 | USSR (flyby) | Failure |
| 9 | 1969 | Mars 1969A | USSR | Failure |
| 10 | 1969 | Mars 1969B | USSR | Failure |
| 11 | 1969 | Mariner 6 | US (flyby) | Success |
| 12 | 1969 | Mariner 7 | US (flyby) | Success |
| 13 | 1971 | Mariner 8 | US | Failure |
| 14 | 1971 | Kosmos 419 | USSR | Failure |
| 15 | 1971 | Mars 2 Orbiter/Lander | USSR | Failure |
| 16 | 1971 | Mars (Read more...) |