List of artificial objects on Mars

The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of Mars, consisting of spacecraft which were launched from Earth. Although most are defunct after having served their purpose, the Curiosity rover, Perseverance rover, Ingenuity helicopter, and Zhurong rover are all active. China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft is the most recent artificial object to land safely on Mars, with Mars 3 and Tianwen-1 remote camera the heaviest and lightest Martian spacecraft respectively.

The table does not include smaller objects, such as springs, fragments, parachutes and heat shields. As of February 2021^[update], there are 14 missions with objects on the surface of Mars. Some of these missions contain multiple spacecraft.

(view • discuss)

Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars, overlain with locations of Mars Lander and Rover sites. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.

(See also: Mars map; Mars Memorials map / list)

( Active ROVER • Inactive • Active LANDER • Inactive • Future )

← Beagle 2 (2003)

Curiosity (2012) →

Deep Space 2 (1999) →

Polar Lander (1999) ↓

↑ Opportunity (2004)

← Perseverance (2021)

← Phoenix (2008)

Schiaparelli EDM (2016) →

List of landers and vehicles[edit]

An example of an additional object from a spacecraft landing is the metal shroud ejected by the Viking 2 lander, as seen in this 1977 view of Mars. The shroud covered the surface sampler instrument and could be seen in images taken by the lander while it was active on the surface.^[1]

In this listing, it is implied that each mission left debris according to its design. For example, the Schiaparelli EDM lander likely exploded on impact, creating an unknown number of fragments at one location. At another location, there may be a lower heat shield, and at another location, a parachute and upper heat shield. Another example is the counterweights ejected by MSL during its descent. In some cases, the nature and location of this additional debris has been determined and, in other cases, even the location of the main spacecraft has remained unknown. The identification of Beagle 2 after 11 years is one of the greatest breakthroughs yet, since prior to that, it could not be confirmed what had happened.^[2] Spacecraft that have not been precisely located include Mars 2, Mars 3, Mars 6, Mars Polar Lander, and the two Deep Space 2 probes.

Key
	No data collection
	Transmitted data
	Operational

Year	Agency	Mission	Object(s)	Mass (kg)	Status	Location
1971	USSR	Mars 2	Mars 2 lander and PrOP-M rover	1210	Failure during descent; crashed on surface	Estimated at 45°S 313°W / 45°S 313°W / -45; -313 (Mars 2)^[3]
1971	USSR	Mars 3	Mars 3 lander and PrOP-M rover	1210	Transmission failure 110 seconds after soft landing	Estimated at Sirenum Terra 45°S 158°W / 45°S 158°W / -45; -158 (Mars 3)^[4]
1973	USSR	Mars 6	Mars 6 lander	635	Returned corrupted data for 224 seconds during its descent but contact lost before reaching surface^[5]	Estimated at Margaritifer Terra 23°54′S 19°25′W / 23.90°S 19.42°W / -23.90; -19.42 (Mars 6)^[5]
1976	NASA	Viking 1	Viking 1 lander	657	Operated 2245 sols. Last contact Nov 11, 1982	Chryse Planitia 22°41′49″N 48°13′19″W / 22.697°N 48.222°W / 22.697; -48.222 (Viking 1)^[6]
1976	NASA	Viking 2	Viking 2 lander	657	Operated 1281 sols. Last contact Apr 11, 1980	Utopia Planitia 48°16′08″N 225°59′24″W / 48.269°N 225.990°W / 48.269; -225.990 (Viking 2)^[7]
1997	NASA	Mars Pathfinder	Pathfinder (lander)	360	Operated 83 sols. Last contact Sep 27, 1997^[8]	Ares Vallis 19°20′N 33°33′W / 19.33°N 33.55°W / 19.33; -33.55 (Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner)^[9]^[10]
1997	NASA	Mars Pathfinder	Sojourner (rover)	11.5	Operated 83 sols. Last contact Sep 27, 1997^[8]
1999	NASA	Mars Surveyor '98	Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2 (probes)	500	Unknown failure during descent; crashed on surface	Estimated at Ultimi Scopuli 76°S 195°W / 76°S 195°W / -76; -195
2003	ESA (UK)	Mars Express	Beagle 2 (lander)	33.2	Landed safely; solar panels failed to deploy	Isidis Planitia 11°31′35″N 90°25′46″E / 11.5265°N 90.4295°E / 11.5265; 90.4295 (Beagle 2 landing site)
2004	NASA	Mars Exploration Rover	Spirit (rover)	185	Operated 2210 sols. Last contact Mar 22, 2010	Gusev crater 14°34′18″S 175°28′43″E / 14.5718°S 175.4785°E / -14.5718; 175.4785 (Spirit rover)
2004	NASA	Mars Exploration Rover	Opportunity (rover)	185	Operated 5111 sols. Last contact June 10, 2018	Meridiani Planum 1°56′46″S 354°28′24″E / 1.9462°S 354.4734°E / -1.9462; 354.4734 (Opportunity rover)
2008	NASA	Phoenix Mars Lander	Phoenix (lander)	350	Operated 155 sols. Last contact Nov 2, 2008	Green Valley in Vastitas Borealis 68°13′N 125°42′W / 68.22°N 125.7°W / 68.22; -125.7 (Phoenix)
2012	NASA	Mars Science Laboratory	Curiosity (rover)	900	In operation, 3854 sols	Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater 4°35′22″S 137°26′30″E / 4.5895°S 137.4417°E / -4.5895; 137.4417
2016	ESA Roscosmos	ExoMars 2016	Schiaparelli EDM (lander)	577	Crashed on impact; transmitted descent telemetry	Meridiani Planum 2°03′S 6°13′W / 2.05°S 6.21°W / -2.05; -6.21
2018	NASA	InSight	InSight (lander)	358	Reached end of designed lifespan after landing on 19 Dec, 2022.	Elysium Planitia 4°30′09″N 135°37′24″E / 4.5024°N 135.6234°E / 4.5024; 135.6234 (InSight landing site)
2021	NASA	Mars 2020	Perseverance (rover)	1024	In operation, 819 sols	Jezero crater 18°26′45″N 77°27′03″E / 18.4457°N 77.4508°E / 18.4457; 77.4508 (Perseverance landing site)
2021	NASA	Mars 2020	Ingenuity (helicopter)	1.8	In operation, 819 sols	Wright Brothers Field 18°26′45″N 77°27′03″E / 18.4457°N 77.4508°E / 18.4457; 77.4508 (Ingenuity drop site)
2021	CNSA	Tianwen-1	Tianwen-1 (lander)	1285^{[citation needed]}	Reached end of designed lifespan after landing on 14 May, 2021.	Utopia Planitia 25°06′N 109°54′E / 25.1°N 109.9°E / 25.1; 109.9 (Zhurong landing site)
			Zhurong (rover)	240	In operation, 737 sols
			Tianwen-1 Remote camera	<1	Reached end of designed lifespan after mission completion on 1 June, 2021.

Combined, the total weight would be 9470 kg.

Other objects[edit]

Orbiters whose orbit could eventually decay and impact the surface, include: Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Global Surveyor, Phobos 2, Mars 2, Mars 3, and Mars 5 orbiters, and Mariner 9. (See also List of Mars orbiters)
The fate of Mars Climate Orbiter (1999) is unknown, but it is thought to have burnt up in the atmosphere before impacting.
Mariner 9, which entered Mars orbit in 1971, is expected to remain in orbit until approximately 2022, when the spacecraft is projected to enter the Martian atmosphere and either burn up or crash into the planet's surface.^[11]

Gallery[edit]

From surface[edit]

MER-A Spirit rover lander
MER-B Opportunity's heat shield
MSL Curiosity self-portrait, 2016

From orbit[edit]

Viking 1 lander in 2006 (HiRise)
Viking 2 lander in 2006 (HiRise)
Phoenix lander and heat-shield in 2009 (HiRise)
Mars Pathfinder seen from space by the MRO HiRISE

MER-B Opportunity lander in Eagle crater (2006)
Beagle 2, after 11 years found and showing that it made it to the surface but did not expand fully to transmit
Curiosity landing remnants
Schiaparelli remnants (2016)

Landing site namings and memorials[edit]

Several landing sites have been named, either the spacecraft itself or the landing site:

Pennants of Soviet Union on Mars 2 and Mars 3 landers (1971).^[12]
Thomas Mutch Memorial Station, the Viking 1 lander (1976).^[13]
Gerald Soffen Memorial Station, the Viking 2 lander (1976).^[14]
Carl Sagan Memorial Station, Mars Pathfinder (Sojourner) base (1997).^[15]
Challenger Memorial Station, MER-B (Opportunity) landing site area (2004).^[16]
Columbia Memorial Station, MER-A (Spirit) landing site area (2004).^[17]
Green Valley, the Phoenix lander (2008).
Bradbury Landing, Curiosity rover landing site (August 6, 2012).^[18] (Note: Due to the nature of the landing system, there is no actual space hardware at the touchdown location of Bradbury Landing, see Curiosity (rover))
InSight Landing, the InSight lander (2018)
Octavia E. Butler Landing, Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter landing site (February 18, 2021)
Wright Brothers Field, the initial take-off and landing site for the Ingenuity helicopter, used for five flights (April, May, 2021)

(view • discuss)

Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars, overlain with locations of Mars Memorial sites. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.

( Named • Debris • Lost )

↑ Challenger Memorial Station

↓Octavia E. Butler Landing

↓Wright Brothers Field

← Green Valley

Schiaparelli EDM →

↓Carl Sagan Memorial Station

Columbia Memorial Station ↑

Thomas Mutch Memorial Station →

Gerald Soffen Memorial Station →

References[edit]

^ Mars - Viking 2 Lander
^ Beagle 2 spacecraft found intact on surface of Mars after 11 years
^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 2". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 3". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
^ ^a ^b "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars 6". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Viking 1 lander". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Viking 2 lander". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
^ "Mars Pathfinder". Retrieved 2011-12-07.
^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Pathfinder". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Mars Pathfinder Rover". Retrieved 2010-12-24.
^ NASA - This Month in NASA History: Mariner 9, November 29, 2011 – Vol. 4, Issue 9
^ Soviet Craft - Mars (1960-1974) Archived 2013-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
^ NSSDC - Viking 1 lander
^ NSSDC - Viking 2 lander
^ NSSDC - Mars Pathfinder
^ NASA - Space Shuttle Challenger Crew Memorialized on Mars
^ NASA - Space Shuttle Columbia Crew Memorialized on Mars
^ "Curiosity Landing Site Named for Ray Bradbury". NASA. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2012.

(view • discuss)

Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars, overlain with locations of Mars Lander and Rover sites. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.

(See also: Mars map; Mars Memorials map / list)