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Missions to Mars
 
CURRENT MISSIONS | Future Missions | Past Missions

artist's concept of Phoenix Phoenix
Launch: Aug. 4, 2007
Arrival: May 25, 2008

The Phoenix Mars Lander successfully landed on the north polar region of Mars. Its mission is to dig up and analyze icy soil. The mission is the first chosen for NASA's Scout program, an initiative for smaller, lower-cost, competed spacecraft. Named for the resilient mythological bird, Phoenix uses a lander that was intended for use by 2001's Mars Surveyor lander prior to its cancellation. It also carries a complex suite of instruments that are improved variations of those that flew on the lost Mars Polar Lander.
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter over the martian landscape Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Launch: Aug. 12, 2005; Arrival: Mar. 10, 2006

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is capturing unique views of Mars with the most powerful telescopic camera ever to another planet. Its five other scientific instruments are collecting data about the Red Planet.
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artist's concept of Mars Exploration Rover Mars Exploration Rovers
Spirit Launch: Jun. 10, 2003; Mars Landing: Jan. 3, 2004
Opportunity Launch: Jul. 7, 2003; Mars Landing: Jan. 24, 2004

Two powerful Mars rovers are on the red planet. They have far greater mobility than the 1997 Mars Pathfinder rover. Each rover carries a sophisticated set of instruments to search for evidence of liquid water that may have been present in the planet's past. The rovers are identical to each other, but are exploring different regions of Mars.
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artist's concept of Mars Express Mars Express
Launch: Jun. 2, 2003
Arrival: Dec. 2003

NASA is participating in Mars Express, a mission planned by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency. The mission is exploring the atmosphere and surface of Mars from polar orbit.
+ ESA's Mars Express site



artist's concept of Mars Odyssey Mars Odyssey
Launch: Apr. 7, 2001
Arrival: Oct. 24, 2001

2001 Mars Odyssey is an orbiting spacecraft designed to determine the composition of the planet's surface, to detect water and shallow buried ice, and to study the radiation environment.
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