The record of Mars exploration is pockmarked by several failures and few shining successes. A short list of American and Russian Mars missions and their fates:
01.Nov.1962 Mars 1 launched. USSR. The first of many ill-fated flybys of the Red Planet. Lost at 65.9 million miles.
05.Nov.1964 Mariner 3. US. Failed flyby Number Two.
28.Nov.1964 Mariner 4. US. First successful Mars flyby. Yielded 21 photos.
30.Nov.1964 Zond 2. USSR. Flyby, failed to provide data.
24.Feb.1969 Mariner 6. US. Flyby yielded 75 photos.
27.Mar.1969 Mariner 7. US. Flyby yielded 126 photos.
8.May.1971 Mariner 8. US. Failed during launch.
19.May.1971 Mars 2. USSR. Orbiter/lander. No useful data returned.
28.May.1971 Mars 3. USSR. Orbiter/lander yielded some data but no photos.
30.May.1971 Mariner 9. US. Orbiter yielded 7,329 photos.
21.July.1973 Mars 4. USSR. Failed - overshot planet.
25.July.1973 Mars 5. USSR. Yielded modest data.
05-09.Aug.1973 Mars 6, 7. USSR. Again, modest data yield.
20.Aug.1975 Viking 1. US. First comprehensive imaging of planet surface.
09.Sep.1975 Viking 2. US. Orbiters and landers return more than 50,000 photos.
07-12.Jul.1988 Phobos 1, 2. USSR. Both lost en route.
25.Sep.1992 Mars Observer. US. Lost immediately preceding planet arrival.
07.Nov.1996. Mars Global Surveyor. Still en route. Orbit mission for mapping and surveillance.
16.Nov.1996 Mars 96. Russia. Failed launch.
04.Dec.1996 Mars Pathfinder. US. Launch.
04.July.1997 Mars Pathfinder. US. Scheduled landing.
12.Sep.1997 Mars Global Surveyor. US. Scheduled to enter orbit.
Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
