Mission, Country, Launch Date, Purpose, Results
* [Unnamed], USSR, 10/10/60, Mars flyby, did not reach Earth orbit
* [Unnamed], USSR, 10/14/60, Mars flyby, did not reach Earth orbit
* [Unnamed], USSR, 10/24/62, Mars flyby, achieved Earth orbit only
* Mars 1, USSR, 11/1/62, Mars flyby, radio failed at 106 million km (65.9 million miles)
* [Unnamed], USSR, 11/4/62, Mars flyby, achieved Earth orbit only
* Mariner 3, U.S., 11/5/64, Mars flyby, shroud failed to jettison
* Mariner 4, U.S. 11/28/64, first successful Mars flyby 7/14/65, returned 21 photos
* Zond 2, USSR, 11/30/64, Mars flyby, passed Mars but radio failed, returned no planetary data
* Mariner 6, U.S., 2/24/69, Mars flyby 7/31/69, returned 75 photos
* Mariner 7, U.S., 3/27/69, Mars flyby 8/5/69, returned 126 photos
* Mariner 8, U.S., 5/8/71, Mars orbiter, failed during launch
* Kosmos 419, USSR, 5/10/71, Mars lander, achieved Earth orbit only
* Mars 2, USSR, 5/19/71, Mars orbiter/lander arrived 11/27/71, no useful data, lander burned up due to steep entry
* Mars 3, USSR, 5/28/71, Mars orbiter/lander, arrived 12/3/71, lander operated on surface for 20 seconds before failing
* Mariner 9, U.S., 5/30/71, Mars orbiter, in orbit 11/13/71 to 10/27/72, returned 7,329 photos
* Mars 4, USSR, 7/21/73, failed Mars orbiter, flew past Mars 2/10/74
* Mars 5, USSR, 7/25/73, Mars orbiter, arrived 2/12/74, lasted a few days
* Mars 6, USSR, 8/5/73, Mars flyby module and lander, arrived 3/12/74, lander failed due to fast impact
* Mars 7, USSR, 8/9/73, Mars flyby module and lander, arrived 3/9/74, lander missed the planet
* Viking 1, U.S., 8/20/75, Mars orbiter/lander, orbit 6/19/76-1980, lander 7/20/76-1982
* Viking 2, U.S., 9/9/75, Mars orbiter/lander, orbit 8/7/76-1987, lander 9/3/76-1980; combined, the Viking orbiters and landers returned 50,000+ photos
* Phobos 1, USSR, 7/7/88, Mars/Phobos orbiter/lander, lost 8/88 en route to Mars
* Phobos 2, USSR, 7/12/88, Mars/Phobos orbiter/lander, lost 3/89 near Phobos
* Mars Observer, U.S., 9/25/92, lost just before Mars arrival 8/21/93
* Mars Global Surveyor, U.S., 11/7/96, Mars orbiter, arrived 9/12/97, high-detail mapping through 1/00, now conducting second extended mission through fall 2004
* Mars 96, Russia, 11/16/96, orbiter and landers, launch vehicle failed
* Mars Pathfinder, U.S., 12/4/96, Mars lander and rover, landed 7/4/97, last transmission 9/27/97
* Nozomi, Japan, 7/4/98, Mars orbiter, currently in orbit around the Sun; Mars arrival delayed to 12/13/03 then fails
* Mars Climate Orbiter, U.S., 12/11/98, lost upon arrival 9/23/99
* Mars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2, U.S., 1/3/99, lander and soil probes, lost on arrival 12/3/99
* Mars Odyssey, U.S., 3/7/01, Mars orbiter, arrived 10/24/01, currently conducting prime mission studying global composition, ground ice, thermal imaging
* Mars Express/Beagle 2, European Space Agency, 6/2/03, Mars orbiter/lander, due to enter orbit 12/25/03, landing 12/25/03 (evening of 12/24/03 in U.S. time zones)