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MARS PROBES: The overview of the Russian launches toward Mars:
Plans for Martian missions in post-Soviet period Mars-94 mission The Mars-94 mission, which would include two small landers and two penetrators on the surface of Mars was canceled after budget constraints did not allowed its launch on schedule in October 1994. 2001 lander In December 1997, NASA officials were expected to travel to Moscow to discuss plans for launching a Russian lander toward Mars onboard the US spacecraft in 2001. The agreement initially was expected in 1996, but financial problems did not allow Russian officials to make any commitments. These plans had never materialized. (105) Rockot-launched probes At the end of the 1990s, Moscow-based Institute of Space Research, IKI, considered the possibility of launching small Mars probe and Phobos lander onboard Rockot-Briz launcher. Both spacecraft and the rocket could be built by Khrunichev enterprise. The project stalled due to lack of funds. Russia offers US to launch planetary probes Published: 2001 June 27 The Russian Aviation and Space Agency, Rosaviacosmos, offered NASA to launch future US planetary missions onboard Russian rockets. According to the proposal, discussed by Russian and US officials in December 2000 in Moscow, Russia could provide its rockets to launch NASA planetary probes in exchange for a fee, which would cover the cost of integration of the US spacecraft with the Russian vehicle. Rosaviacosmos then would use NASA payments to finance Russia's scientific contribution in the US planetary missions. Such a scheme was considered the only realistic possibility for Russian scientists to obtain funds for participating in planetary research. Russia's only independent planetary exploration project, which targets Mars' moon Phobos, has been stalled due to lack of funds. Among the most likely candidates to be launched onboard Russian rockets was the Scout project, which envisioned a series of relatively small spacecraft for the exploration of Mars. Rosaviacosmos offered to launch one or several Scout probes on the Soyuz-Fregat launcher and also to contribute Russian payload, such as a rover, to the project. Theoretically, a more powerful and expensive Proton rocket could also be used to launch NASA's probe toward Pluto, however, the Pluto mission itself has been all but canceled at the time. (It was later re-instated but was launched onboard the US Atlas rocket. Six months after the initial discussions, NASA was yet to respond to the Russian proposal. In light of deteriorating relations between two agencies over the ISS project, the idea had little chance to fly. The issue was expected to be raised again during a visit to Moscow by Dr. Edward Weiler, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science. Europe heads to Mars, as Russian planetary science remains grounded Published: 2003 June 2 Russia successfully launched a European science probe on a mission to explore Mars. The Soyuz/Fregat booster blasted off from Site 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, June 2, 2003, at 23:45 local time (1745 GMT; 1:45 p.m. EDT), carrying the Mars Express spacecraft built by the European Space Agency. After reaching the initial low orbit around the Earth, the Fregat upper stage re-ignited, sending the probe on a six-month journey to Mars. The Mars Express is scheduled to enter the orbit around Mars in December 2003. A small lander will then separate from the orbital module of the spacecraft and land on the Martian surface to conduct a number of scientific studies, including search for traces of life. Two NASA rovers will follow the Mars Express in June 2003, using the same planetary alignment to reach Mars at the end of the year. The Mars
Express became the first planetary mission departing from Baikonur, since
the ill-fated attempt to send Russian Mars-96 spacecraft to the Red Planet
in 1996. The failure of the upper stage of the Proton
rocket left the probe stranded in a decaying low-Earth orbit. The
Mars-96 fiasco essentially ended decades-long Russian planetary exploration
program, as well as dwarfed that country's cooperation with NASA and European
Space Agency, ESA, in the field. During the planning stage of the Mars Express mission, Russian space officials expressed interest in active participation in the scientific part of the project. The Russian Space Agency also offered the rocket as a free contribution into the program. However, ESA preferred to purchase the Soyuz/Fregat booster commercially, in order to avoid dependency on the cash-strapped Russian space program. As a result, Russian scientists had never had a chance to assume any active role in the scientific program of the Mars Express mission. Similar scenario played out during Russian attempts to get involved into NASA-led planetary missions. In the meantime, Russia's own plans to send a probe to Mars and return soil samples from one of its moons had been stalled for years due to lack of funding. If it ever reached the launch pad, Phobos-Grunt would mark an ambitious revival of the Russian planetary exploration program, which has been left penniless and demoralized ever since an ill-fated Mars-96 spacecraft plunged into the Earth atmosphere in October 1996. Phobos-Aster According to Russian officials, if Phobos-Grunt mission succeeded in 2009, it could serve as a platform for more daring deep space launches, targeting asteroids. Yet, another mission to Mars would be attempted "no later than 2015," according to a number of statements by Russian officials during 2005.
Page author: Anatoly Zak Last update: June 18, 2008 All rights reserved |
PICTURE GALLERY
A scale model of the 2MV probe. Copyright © 2001 Anatoly Zak
The 8K78 launcher, carrying the Mars-1 probe, blasts off from Baikonur. Credit: RKK Energia
The engine which propelled 2MV spacecraft toward Mars and Venus. Copyright © 2001 Anatoly Zak
Full-size replica of the Mars-3 spacecraft, minus its entry heat shield on the Mars lander. Copyright © 2001 Anatoly Zak
The Mars-3 lander with its heat shield on the background and small tethered rover (bottom right). Copyright © 2000 Anatoly Zak
The general view of the Phobos orbiter. Copyright © 2000 Anatoly Zak
The Phobos lander. Copyright © 2000 Anatoly Zak
The Phobos lander. Copyright © 2000 Anatoly Zak
The propulsion unit of the MV spacecraft. Copyright © 2000 Anatoly Zak
The European Mars Express spacecraft launch by a Russian Soyuz rocket with the Fregat upper stage in June 2003. Credit ESA |
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