The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, consisting of

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...

which were launched from Earth. Although most are defunct after having served their purpose, the ''

Curiosity Curiosity (from Latin , from "careful, diligent, curious", akin to "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking, such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident in humans and other animals. Curiosity helps Developmental psyc ...

'' and '' Perseverance'' rovers are active. China's

Tianwen-1 -1 ( zh , s = 天问一号) (also referred to as TW-1) is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lan ...

spacecraft is the most recent artificial object to land safely on Mars. The table does not include smaller objects, such as springs, fragments,

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

s and

heat shield In engineering, a heat shield is a component designed to protect an object or a human operator from being burnt or overheated by dissipating, reflecting, and/or absorbing heat. The term is most often used in reference to exhaust heat management a ...

s. , there are 14 missions with objects on the surface of Mars. Some of these missions contain multiple spacecraft.

List of landers and vehicles

Other objects

* 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

counterweight A counterweight is a weight (object), weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a machine, mechanical system. The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves e ...

s 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. Spacecraft that have not been precisely located include ''Mars 2'', ''Mars 3'', ''Mars 6'', Mars Polar Lander, and the two Deep Space 2 probes. *Orbiters whose orbit could eventually decay and impact the surface, include: '' Viking 1'' and '' Viking 2'' orbiters, ''

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter The ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (''MRO'') is a spacecraft designed to search for the existence of water on Mars and provide support for missions to Mars, as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. It was launched from Cape Canaveral on Au ...

'', '' 2001 Mars Odyssey'', ''

Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission by the European Space Agency, European Space Agency (ESA) exploring the planet Mars and its moons since 2003, and the first planetary mission attempted by ESA. ''Mars Express'' consisted of two ...

'', ''

Mars Global Surveyor ''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American Robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It launched November 1996 and collected data from 1997 to 2006. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined ...

'', Phobos 2, Mars 2,

Mars 3 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 consisti ...

, and Mars 5 orbiters, and

Mariner 9 Mariner 9 (Mariner Mars '71 / Mariner-I) was a robotic spacecraft that contributed greatly to the exploration of Mars and was part of the NASA Mariner program. Mariner 9 was launched toward Mars on May 30, 1971, from Spaceport Florida Launch Comp ...

. (See also List of Mars orbiters) *The fate of ''

Mars Climate Orbiter The ''Mars Climate Orbiter'' (formerly the Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter) was a robotic space probe launched by NASA on December 11, 1998, to study the Martian climate, Martian atmosphere, and surface changes and to act as the communications rel ...

'' (1999) is unknown, but it is thought to have burnt up in the atmosphere before impacting. *

, 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.

Gallery

From surface

PIA05117 Empty Nest.jpg, MER-A ''Spirit'' rover lander Opportunity heat shield Sol335B P2364 L456-B339R1.jpg, MER-B ''Opportunity''s heat shield PIA20844-MarsCuriosityRover-SelfPortrait-Sol1466-20160920.jpg, MSL ''Curiosity'' self-portrait, 2016

From orbit

PSP 001521 2025 RED VL-1 lander.png, ''Viking 1'' lander in 2006 (HiRise) PSP 001501 2280 RED VL-2 lander.png, ''Viking 2'' lander in 2006 (HiRise) Phoenix Lander from HiRISE.JPG, ''Phoenix'' lander and heat-shield in 2009 (HiRise) MPT Hardware on the Surface MRO picture.jpg, ''Mars Pathfinder'' seen from space by the MRO

HiRISE High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the '' Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction ...

Oppland02a.jpg, MER-B ''Opportunity'' lander in Eagle crater (2006) PIA19107-Beagle2-Found-MRO-20140629.jpg, ''Beagle 2'', after 11 years found and showing that it made it to the surface but did not expand fully to transmit PIA15696-HiRISE-MSL-Sol11 2 -br2.jpg, ''Curiosity'' landing remnants PIA21131 - Closer Look at Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars.jpg, ''Schiaparelli'' remnants (2016)

Landing site namings and memorials

Several landing sites have been named, either the spacecraft itself or the landing site: * Pennants of Soviet Union on Mars 2 and

landers (1971). * Thomas Mutch Memorial Station, the '' Viking 1'' lander (1976). * Gerald Soffen Memorial Station, the '' Viking 2'' lander (1976). * Carl Sagan Memorial Station,

Mars Pathfinder ''Mars Pathfinder'' was an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a rover (space exploration), roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a Lander (spacecraft), lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a ligh ...

(''

Sojourner A sojourner is a person who resides temporarily in a place. Sojourner may also refer to: People * Sojourner Truth (1797–1883), abolitionist and women's rights activist * Albert Sojourner (1872–1951), member of the Mississippi House of Rep ...

'') base (1997). * ''Challenger'' Memorial Station, MER-B (''

Opportunity Opportunity may refer to: Places * Opportunity, Montana, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Nebraska, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Washington, a former census-designated place, United States * ...

'') landing site area (2004). * ''Columbia'' Memorial Station,

MER-A ''Spirit'', also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover – A) or MER-2, is a Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010. ''Spirit'' was operational on Mars for sols or 3.3 Martian years ( days; '). It was one of two rovers of NASA's Mar ...

('' Spirit'') landing site area (2004). * Green Valley, the '' Phoenix'' lander (2008). *

Bradbury Landing Bradbury Landing is the August 6, 2012, landing site within Gale (crater), Gale crater on planet Mars of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover, ''Curiosity'' rover. On August 22, 2012, on what would have been his 92nd birthday, NAS ...

, ''Curiosity'' rover landing site (August 6, 2012). (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 Insight is the understanding of a specific causality, cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of se ...

'' 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) * Three Forks Sample Depot, backup sample Depot of Perseverance cached samples for return to Earth by NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return Mission (2022)

References

{{Portal bar, Solar System * Artificial objects on Mars Artificial objects on Mars