The 10,250-pound Mars 3 spacecraft was comprised of an orbiter and a lander. Once in orbit, the two pieces separated and the 2,500 pound lander housed in a four foot diameter sphere started its descent to the surface. Using a 9.5 foot aeroshell to protect it from the fiery atmospheric entry, a parachute to slow its fall, and retrorockets fired in the final stage of landing, Mars 3 landed safely on December 2, 1971. Once on the surface, the sides of the sphere opened like flower petals revealing the suite of instruments. Mars 3 went to study the planet’s atmospheric...