Mars 3

Mars 3
Mission type	Mars orbiter/lander
Operator	Soviet space program
COSPAR ID	1971-049A; 1971-049F
SATCAT no.	5252; 5667
Mission duration	Orbiter:; 1 year, 2 months and 25 days; Lander:; 1 minute and 50 seconds
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	4M No.172
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Launch mass	Total:; 4,650 kg (10,250 lb); Orbiter:; 3,440 kg (7,580 lb); Lander:; 1,210 kg (2,670 lb)
Landing mass	358 kg (789 lb)
Dry mass	2,265 kg (4,993 lb)
Dimensions	4.1 × 2.0 × 5.9 m (13.5 × 6.6 × 19.4 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date	28 May 1971, 15:26:30 UTC
Rocket	Proton-K/D
Launch site	Baikonur 81/23
Contractor	Khrunichev
End of mission
Disposal	Decommissioned
Declared	August 22, 1972
Last contact	Orbiter:; July 1972; Lander:; 2 December 1971, 13:53:50 UTC
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
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. However, 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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