Mars 6

Mars 6
Mission type Mars flyby/lander[1]
Operator Lavochkin
COSPAR ID Bus: 1973-052A[2]
Lander: 1973-052D
SATCAT no. Bus: 6768[2]
Lander: 7223
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft 3MP No.50P
Manufacturer Lavochkin
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°54′S 19°25′W / 23.90°S 19.42°W / -23.90; -19.42

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 programme, it consisted of a lander, and a coast stage with instruments to study Mars as it flew past.

Spacecraft

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.

Launch

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]

Map of the planet Mars, showing the locations of Viking 1, Mars 2, Mars Pathfinder, Opportunity and Mars 6 (lower centre of the image, near the scale bar).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Interplanetary Probes". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mars 6". US National Space Science Data Centre. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  3. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 Siddiqi, Asif A. (2002). "1973". Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes 1958-2000 (PDF). Monographs in Aerospace History, No. 24. NASA History Office. pp. 101–106.
Acidalia Planitia Acidalia Planitia Alba Mons Amazonis Planitia Aonia Terra Arabia Terra Arcadia Planitia Arcadia Planitia Argyre Planitia Elysium Mons Elysium Planitia Hellas Planitia Hesperia Planum Isidis Planitia Lucas Planum Lyot Crater Noachis Terra Olympus Mons Promethei Terra Rudaux Crater Solis Planum Tempe Terra Terra Cimmeria Terra Sabaea Terra Sirenum Tharsis Montes Utopia Planitia Valles Marineris Vastitas Borealis Vastitas BorealisMap of Mars
Interactive imagemap of the global topography of Mars, overlain with locations of Mars landers and rovers (Red label = Rover; Blue label = Lander; bold red/blue = currently active). Hover your mouse to see the names of over 25 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Reds and pinks are higher elevation (+3 km to +8 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevation (down to −8 km). Whites (>+12 km) and browns (>+8 km) are the highest elevations. Axes are latitude and longitude; Poles are not shown.
(See also: Mars map & Mars Memorials & Mars Memorials map) (view • discuss)
← Beagle 2 (2003)
Curiosity (2012) →
Deep Space 2 (1999) →
Mars 2 (1971) →
← Mars 3 (1971)
Mars 6 (1973) →
Polar Lander (1999) ↓
↑ Opportunity (2004)
← Phoenix (2008)
Schiaparelli EDM (2016) →
← Sojourner (1997)
Spirit (2004) ↑
Viking 1 (1976) →
Viking 2 (1976) →

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