Mars 3

Mars 3
Mission type	Mars orbiter and lander
Operator	Soviet space program
COSPAR ID	Orbiter: 1971-049A; Lander: 1971-049C
SATCAT no.	Orbiter: 5252; Lander: 5667
Mission duration	Orbiter: 1 year, 2 months and 25 days; Lander: 20 seconds;
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	3MS No. 172
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Launch mass	Combined: 4,650 kg (10,250 lb); Orbiter: 3,440 kg (7,580 lb); Lander: 1,210 kg (2,670 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	28 May 1971, 15:26:30 UTC
Rocket	Proton K/D
Launch site	Baikonur 81/23
End of mission
Disposal	Decommissioned
Deactivated	August 22, 1972 (orbiter)
Last contact	Last data transmission July 1972
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Areocentric
Periareion altitude	1,528 km (949 mi)
Apoareion altitude	214,500 km (133,300 mi)
Inclination	60°
Period	12.67 days
Mars orbiter
Orbital insertion	December 2, 1971
Mars lander
Spacecraft component	Mars 3 Lander
Landing date	December 2, 1971 13:52 UTC
Landing site	45°S 202°E / 45°S 202°E (predicted)
	; Mars 3 (lander) stamp Mars program ← Mars 2 Mars 4 →

Mars 3 was a robotic space probe of the Soviet Mars program, launched May 28, 1971, nine days after its twin spacecraft Mars 2. The probes were identical robotic spacecraft launched by Proton-K rockets with a Blok D upper stage, each consisting of an orbiter and an attached lander. After the Mars 2 lander crashed on the Martian surface, the Mars 3 lander became the first spacecraft to attain a soft landing on Mars, on December 2, 1971. It failed 110 seconds after landing, having transmitted only a gray image with no details.^[5] The Mars 2 orbiter and Mars 3 orbiter continued to circle Mars and transmit images back to Earth for another eight months.

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