60554 BC-SPACE-MARS-CHRONO REUIN GENERAL NEWS RUSH 323 09/25 3:30 PM

BC-SPACE-MARS-CHRONOLOGY (0831areulbar005DC)


Missions to Mars is 22nd Attempt

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida, Sept 25, Reuter - The United States

and the former Soviet Union have launched 21 missions to Mars

between 1962 and 1988.

Seven failed to reach the red planet. Here are the others,

listed by the dates of arrival, provided by the U.S. space

agency NASA.

July 14, 1965: U.S. Mariner 4 flyby provided the first

close-range images of surface craters, dashed theories of

``little green men.''

July 31, 1969: U.S. Mariner 6 flyby photographed the

equatorial region.

August 5, 1969: U.S. Mariner 7 flyby photographed the

southern hemisphere.

November 13, 1971: U.S. Mariner 9, the first artificial

satellite to orbit another planet. Operated almost a year,

mapping the total surface and photographing moons Phobos and

Deimos.

November 27, 1971: Soviet Union. Mars 2 orbiter released

lander that crashed.

December 2, 1971: Soviet Union. Mars 3 lander touched down

but onboard camera stopped transmitting after 20 seconds.

Orbiter transmitted for three months.

February 10, 1974: Soviet Union. Mars 4 missed the planet

but returned a swath of pictures.

February 12, 1974: Mars 5 entered orbit but stopped

transmitting photographs of southern hemisphere after a few

days.

March 9, 1974: Mars 7 lander suffered technical problems and

passed by the planet.

March 12, 1974: Mars 6 lander transmitted during descent but

stopped when landing rockets fired.

June 19, 1976: Viking 1 entered orbit. Lander touched down

July 20 and operated six years. Orbiter operated four years.

August 7, 1976: Viking 2 entered orbit. Lander touched down

September 3, discovering water frost at the end of Martian

winter, and operated six years. Orbiter operated two years.

January 1989: Soviet Union. Phobos 1 disabled by ground

control error. Phobos 2 entered orbit to study the surface,

atmosphere and magnetic field. Communications were lost after

less than three months.

REUTER JL BEH

Reut15:32 09-25

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