Mars 6 (Russian: Марс-6), also known as 3MP No.50P was a Soviet spacecraft launched to explore Mars. A 3MP bus spacecraft launched as part of the Mars program, it consisted of a lander, and a coast stage with instruments to study Mars as it flew past.
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Mission type | Mars flyby/lander[1] |
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Operator | Lavochkin |
COSPAR ID | Bus: 1973-052A[2] Lander: 1973-052D |
SATCAT no. | Bus: 6768[2] Lander: 7223 |
Mission duration | 7 months 7 days (launch to last contact with lander) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | 3MP No.50P |
Manufacturer | Lavochkin |
Launch mass | 3,260 kg (lander, bus, and fuel)[2] |
Landing mass | 635 kilograms (1,400 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 5 August 1973, 17:45:48 (1973-08-05UTC17:45:48Z) UTC[3] |
Rocket | Proton-K/D |
Launch site | Baikonur 81/23 |
End of mission | |
Last contact | Lander: 12 March 1974, 09:11:05 UTC |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Heliocentric |
Flyby of Mars | |
Spacecraft component | Bus |
Closest approach | 12 March 1974, 09:05:53 UTC |
Distance | 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) |
Mars impact (failed landing) | |
Spacecraft component | lander |
Impact date | 12 March 1974, 09:11 UTC |
Impact site | 23.90°S 19.42°W / -23.90; -19.42 |
The Mars 6 spacecraft carried an array of instruments to study Mars. The lander was equipped with a thermometer and barometer to determine the surface conditions, an accelerometer and radio altimeter for descent, and instruments to analyse the surface material including a mass spectrometer.[4] The coast stage, or bus, carried a magnetometer, plasma traps, cosmic ray and micrometeoroid detectors, and an instrument to study proton and electron fluxes from the Sun.[4]
Built by Lavochkin, Mars 6 was the first of two 3MP spacecraft launched to Mars in 1973 and was followed by Mars 7. Two orbiters, Mars 4 and Mars 5, were launched earlier in the 1973 Mars launch window and were expected to relay data for the two landers. However, Mars 4 failed to enter orbit, and Mars 5 failed after a few days in orbit.
Mars 6 was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/23.[3] The launch occurred at 17:45:48 UTC on 5 August 1973, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and upper stage into a low Earth parking orbit before the Blok D fired to propel Mars 6 into heliocentric orbit bound for Mars. The spacecraft performed a course correction on 13 August 1973.
Mars 6's lander separated from the flyby bus on 12 March 1974 at an altitude of 48,000 kilometres (30,000 mi) from the surface of Mars. The bus made a flyby with a closest approach of 1,600 kilometres (990 mi). The lander encountered the atmosphere of Mars at 09:05:53 UTC, slowing from 5,600 to 600 metres per second (12,500 to 1,300 mph) as it passed through the upper atmosphere. A parachute was then deployed to further slow the probe's descent, and retrorockets were intended to fire during the last seconds before the probe reached the ground.
The spacecraft returned data for 224 seconds during its descent through the Martian atmosphere. However, at 09:11:05 UTC, with the spacecraft about to fire its retrorockets in preparation for landing, all contact was lost. Due to a design flaw, a chip aboard the spacecraft had degraded during the mission, and a large amount of the data which had been returned was unusable.[2]
Mars programme | |
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Past | |
Cancelled |
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Italics indicate failures at launch. |
← 1972 · Orbital launches in 1973 · 1974 → | |
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Luna 21 (Lunokhod 2) | Kosmos 543 | Kosmos 544 | Kosmos 545 | Kosmos 546 | Kosmos 547 | Molniya-1 No.31 | Kosmos 548 | Prognoz 3 | Kosmos 549 | Kosmos 550 | Kosmos 551 | OPS 6063 | OPS 8410 | Meteor-M No.29 | Kosmos 552 · Nauka-16KS No.2L | Salyut 2 | Molniya-2-5 | Pioneer 11 | Kosmos 553 | Kosmos 554 | Interkosmos 9 | Anik A2 | Unnamed | Kosmos 555 · Nauka-14KS No.2 | Kosmos 556 | Kosmos 557 | Skylab | OPS 2093 | Kosmos 558 | Kosmos 559 | Unnamed | Kosmos 560 | Unnamed | Skylab 2 | Kosmos 561 · Nauka-9KS No.1 | Meteor-M No.27 | Kosmos 562 | Kosmos 563 | Kosmos 564 · Kosmos 565 · Kosmos 566 · Kosmos 567 · Kosmos 568 · Kosmos 569 · Kosmos 570 · Kosmos 571 | Kosmos 572 | Explorer 49 | OPS 6157 | Kosmos 573 | Kosmos 574 | Kosmos 575 | OPS 4018 | Kosmos 576 | Unnamed | Molniya-2-6 | OPS 8261 | ITOS-E | Mars 4 | Kosmos 577 | Mars 5 | Skylab 3 | Kosmos 578 | Mars 6 | Mars 7 | OPS 8364 | Kosmos 579 | OPS 7724 | Kosmos 580 | Intelsat IV F-7 | Kosmos 581 | Kosmos 582 | Molniya-1-24 | Kosmos 583 | Kosmos 584 | Kosmos 585 | Kosmos 586 | Unnamed | Kosmos 587 | Soyuz 12 | OPS 6275 | Kosmos 588 · Kosmos 589 · Kosmos 590 · Kosmos 591 · Kosmos 592 · Kosmos 593 · Kosmos 594 · Kosmos 595 | Kosmos 596 | Kosmos 597 | Kosmos 598 | Kosmos 599 | Kosmos 600 | Kosmos 601 | Molniya-2-7 | Kosmos 602 | Explorer 50 | Kosmos 603 | Kosmos 604 | Transit-O 20 | Interkosmos 10 | Kosmos 605 | Kosmos 606 | Mariner 10 | NOAA-3 | Kosmos 607 | OPS 6630 · OPS 6630/2 · OPS 7705 | Molniya-1 No.32 | Skylab 4 | Kosmos 608 | Kosmos 609 | Kosmos 610 | Kosmos 611 | Kosmos 612 | Kosmos 613 | Molniya-1-26 | Kosmos 614 | Kosmos 615 | OPS 9433 · OPS 9434 | Explorer 51 | Kosmos 616 | Soyuz 13 | Kosmos 617 · Kosmos 618 · Kosmos 619 · Kosmos 620 · Kosmos 621 · Kosmos 622 · Kosmos 623 · Kosmos 624 | Kosmos 625 | Molniya-2-8 | Oreol 2 | Kosmos 626 | Kosmos 627 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets). |
Spacecraft missions to Mars | ||||||||||
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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. |