Mars 6
Mars 6 — a Soviet lander (reached the surface 12 March 1974, in Margaritifer Sinus). During its descent it sent the first data from inside the atmosphere of Mars, though a faulty computer chip made much of it unreadable. Contact was lost at 09:11 UT, just as it reached the surface.
Key facts
Mission & specifications
Mission
- Operator
- Lavochkin (USSR)
- Launched
- August 5, 1973
- Status
- Completed
Trajectory
- Distance from the Sun
- 1.58 AU
- Computed from the cached position
- Distance from Earth
- 1.53 AU
- Computed from cached positions
- Distance from Mars
- 1,124,073 km
- Computed from cached positions
Mission
Mars 6 was a flyby craft carrying a lander, launched on 5 August 1973. Its lander was very like those of Mars 2 and 3. On the way, a tape recorder failed and then most of its telemetry system, so controllers no longer had direct data on how the craft was doing. It carried out its sequence on its own regardless. At 05:01:56 UT on 12 March 1974 the lander separated, and four hours later it entered the atmosphere at 5.6 km/s. Its parachute opened about 20 km up, and as it descended it sent the first data from inside the atmosphere of Mars — temperature, pressure and chemical make-up. A faulty computer chip, the flaw that also crippled Mars 4 and 7, left much of the data unreadable. Contact was lost at 09:11:05 UT, as the landing engines fired or as it struck the ground, near 23.9° S, 19.4° W in Margaritifer Sinus, where the map shows it. Why it fell silent was never settled. The flyby craft passed about 1,600 km from Mars and went into orbit around the Sun.
- 1973Mars 6 launches toward Mars on a Proton rocketLaunch
A flyby craft carrying a lander sets out.
The lander descends on its parachute, transmitting — though much of the data is unreadable.
At 09:11:05 UT, in Margaritifer Sinus.
Images
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