Mars 1M No.1, designated Mars 1960A by NASA analysts and dubbed Marsnik 1 by the Western media, was the first spacecraft launched as part of the Soviet Union's Mars programme.[1] A Mars 1M spacecraft, it was intended for conducting flight testing system and to study the interplanetary environment between Earth and Mars, however it was lost in a launch failure before it could begin its mission.[2][3]
![]() A Mars 1M spacecraft | |
Names | Marsnik-1, Korabl-4, Mars 1960A |
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Mission type | Mars flyby |
COSPAR ID | ![]() |
Mission duration | Failed to orbit |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft type | Mars 1M |
Manufacturer | OKB-1 RSC-Energia |
Launch mass | 650 kilograms (1,430 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 10 October 1960, 14:27:49 (1960-10-10UTC14:27:49Z) UTC |
Rocket | Molniya 8K78/L1-4M Modified SS-6 |
Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
Instruments | |
1) Ultraviolet Spectrograph
2) Radiation Detector 3) Cosmic-Ray Detector 4) Television Imaging System (Removed) 5) Spectroreflectometer (Removed) | |
Mars 1M No.1 was the payload of the Molniya 8K78 rocket's maiden flight. The rocket, which had serial number L1-4M, was a new derivative of the R-7 series, with a Blok-I third stage replacing the Blok-E used on the Vostok, and a new Blok-L fourth stage. The vehicle lifted off from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 14:27:49 UTC on 10 October 1960.[4][5]
Television Imaging System and Spectroreflectometer were removed due to mass constraints.
It was determined that during the course of second stage of flight, the resonant vibration in third stage of rocket provoked by malfunction of gyroscope and it damaged the attitude control system of carrier rocket. Following this issue, the horizon sensor disconnected from the booster and the rocket descended from normal flight path angle. As a consequence the rocket's third stage commanded to stop ignition after five minutes into flight, during this stage the spacecraft uplifted to an altitude of 120 km before re-entry. Thereafter, the spacecraft re-entered and disintegrated in LEO and its debris fallen over Siberia with 4,800 km down range. It failed to achieve low earth orbit.[7][8]
Mars programme | |
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Past | |
Cancelled |
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Italics indicate failures at launch. |
← 1959 · Orbital launches in 1960 · 1961 → | |
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Discoverer 9 | Discoverer 10 | Midas 1 | Pioneer 5 | S-46 | TIROS-1 | Transit 1B · Solrad mass simulator | Discoverer 11 | Luna E-3 No.1 | Luna E-3 No.2 | Echo 1 | Korabl-Sputnik 1 | Midas 2 | Transit 2A · SOLRAD 1 | Discoverer 12 | Vostok-1K No.1 | Discoverer 13 | Echo 1A | Courier 1A | Discoverer 14 | Korabl-Sputnik 2 | Discoverer 15 | Pioneer P-30 | Courier 1B | Mars 1M No.1 | Samos 1 | Mars 1M No.2 | Discoverer 16 | Explorer 8 | Discoverer 17 | TIROS-2 | Transit 3A · SOLRAD 2 | Korabl-Sputnik 3 | Explorer S-56 | Discoverer 18 | Pioneer P-31 | Discoverer 19 | Vostok-1K No.4 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets. |
Spacecraft missions to Mars | ||||||||||
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Active |
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Past |
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Future |
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Exploration |
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Missions are ordered by launch date. Sign † indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned. |
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