List of missions to Mars
This is a list of the 49 (and counting) spacecraft missions relating to the planet Mars, such as orbiters and rovers.
Decade |
|
---|---|
1960s | 12 |
1970s | 11 |
1980s | 2 |
1990s | 7 |
2000s | 8 |
2010s | 6 |
2020s | 3 |
Missions
Spacecraft | Launch Date | Operator | Mission[1] | Outcome[2] | Remarks | Carrier rocket[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1M No.1 | 10 October 1960 | OKB-1 Soviet Union |
Flyby | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Molniya |
1M No.2 | 14 October 1960 | OKB-1 Soviet Union |
Flyby | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Molniya |
2MV-4 No.1 | 24 October 1962 | Soviet Union | Flyby | Launch failure | Booster stage ("Block L") disintegrated in LEO | Molniya |
Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) |
1 November 1962 | Soviet Union | Flyby | Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before flyby | Molniya |
2MV-3 No.1 | 4 November 1962 | Soviet Union | Lander | Launch failure | Never left LEO | Molniya |
Mariner 3 | 5 November 1964 | NASA United States |
Flyby | Launch failure | Payload fairing failed to separate | Atlas LV-3 Agena-D |
Mariner 4 | 28 November 1964 | NASA United States |
Flyby | Successful | The first flyby of Mars on 15 July 1965 | Atlas LV-3 Agena-D |
Zond 2 (3MV-4A No.2) |
30 November 1964 | Soviet Union | Flyby | Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before flyby | Molniya |
Mariner 6 | 25 February 1969 | NASA United States |
Flyby | Successful | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | |
2M No.521
(1969A)[4] |
27 March 1969 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Proton-K/D |
Mariner 7 | 27 March 1969 | NASA United States |
Flyby | Successful | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D | |
2M No.522
(1969B)[4] |
2 April 1969 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Proton-K/D |
Mariner 8 | 9 May 1971 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Launch failure | Failed to orbit | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D |
Kosmos 419 (3MS No.170) |
10 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | Launch failure | Never left LEO; booster stage burn timer set incorrectly | Proton-K/D |
Mars 2 (4M No.171) |
19 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | Successful | Entered orbit on 27 November 1971, operated for 362 orbits[5] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 2 lander (SA 4M No.171) |
19 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Lander | Spacecraft failure | Deployed from Mars 2, failed to land during attempt on 27 November 1971 | Proton-K/D |
Mars 3 (4M No.172) |
28 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | Successful | Entered orbit on 2 December 1971, operated for 20 orbits[6][7] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 3 lander (SA 4M No.172) |
28 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Lander | Successful[8] | The first lander on Mars, soft landed on 2 December 1971. The first partial image (70 lines) was transmitted. Contact lost 14.5 seconds after transmission start. | Proton-K/D |
Prop-M Rover rover (SA 4M No.172) |
28 May 1971 | Soviet Union | Rover | Partial failure | Deployment is unknown, due to communication problem because of storm | Proton-K/D |
Mariner 9 | 30 May 1971 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Successful[9] | The first orbiter of Mars. Entered orbit on 14 November 1971, deactivated 516 days after entering orbit | Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D |
Mars 4 (3MS No.52S) |
21 July 1973 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Failed to perform orbital insertion burn | Proton-K/D |
Mars 5 (3MS No.53S) |
25 July 1973 | Soviet Union | Orbiter | Partial failure | Failed after 9 days in Mars orbit; returned 180 frames | Proton-K/D |
Mars 6 (3MP No.50P) |
5 August 1973 | Soviet Union | Lander Flyby |
Spacecraft failure | Contact lost upon landing, atmospheric data mostly unreadable. Flyby bus collected data.[10] | Proton-K/D |
Mars 7 (3MP No.51P) |
9 August 1973 | Soviet Union | Lander Flyby |
Spacecraft failure | Separated from coast stage prematurely, failed to enter Martian atmosphere | Proton-K/D |
Viking 1 orbiter | 20 August 1975 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Successful | Operated for 1385 orbits. Entered Mars orbit in 1976 June 19. | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Viking 1 lander | 20 August 1975 | NASA United States |
Lander | Successful | The second lander successfully returning data, deployed from Viking 1 orbiter. Operated for 2245 sols. Landed on Mars in 1976 July 20. | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Viking 2 orbiter | 9 September 1975 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Successful | Operated for 700 orbits. Entered Mars orbit in 1976 August 7. | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Viking 2 lander | 9 September 1975 | NASA United States |
Lander | Successful | Deployed from Viking 2 orbiter, operated for 1281 sols (11 Apr 1980). Landed on Mars in 1976 September 3. | Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T |
Phobos 1 (1F No.101) |
7 July 1988 | Soviet Union | Orbiter Phobos lander |
Spacecraft failure | Communications lost before reaching Mars; failed to enter orbit | Proton-K/D-2 |
Phobos 2 (1F No.102) |
12 July 1988 | Soviet Union | Orbiter Phobos lander |
Partial failure | Orbital observations successful, communications lost before landing | Proton-K/D-2 |
Mars Observer | 25 September 1992 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Lost communications before orbital insertion | Commercial Titan III |
Mars Global Surveyor | 7 November 1996 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Successful | Operated for seven years | Delta II 7925 |
Mars 96 (M1 No.520)(Mars-8)[4] |
16 November 1996 | Rosaviakosmos Russia |
Orbiter Penetrators |
Launch failure | Never left LEO | Proton-K/D-2 |
Mars Pathfinder | 4 December 1996 | NASA United States |
Lander | Successful | Landed at 19.13°N 33.22°W on 4 July 1997,[11] Last contact on 27 September 1997 | Delta II 7925 |
Sojourner | 4 December 1996 | NASA United States |
Rover | Successful | The first rover on another planet, operated for 84 days[12] | Delta II 7925 |
Nozomi (PLANET-B) |
3 July 1998 | ISAS Japan |
Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Ran out of fuel before reaching Mars | M-V |
Mars Climate Orbiter | 11 December 1998 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Spacecraft failure | Approached Mars too closely during orbit insertion attempt due to a software interface bug involving different units for impulse and burned up in the atmosphere | Delta II 7425 |
Mars Polar Lander | 3 January 1999 | NASA United States |
Lander | Spacecraft failure | Failed to land | Delta II 7425 |
Deep Space 2 | 3 January 1999 | NASA United States |
Penetrator | Spacecraft failure | Deployed from MPL, no data returned | Delta II 7425 |
Mars Odyssey | 7 April 2001 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Operational | Expected to remain operational until 2025. | Delta II 7925 |
Mars Express | 2 June 2003 | ESA European Union |
Orbiter | Operational | Enough fuel to remain operational until 2026. | Soyuz-FG/Fregat |
Beagle 2 | 2 June 2003 | ESA | Lander | Lander failure | No communications received after release from Mars Express. Orbital images of landing site suggest a successful landing, but two solar panels failed to deploy, obstructing its communications. | Soyuz-FG/Fregat |
Spirit (MER-A) |
10 June 2003 | NASA United States |
Rover | Successful | Landed on 4 January 2004. Operated for 2208 sols |
Delta II 7925 |
Opportunity (MER-B) |
8 July 2003 | NASA United States |
Rover | Successful | Landed on 25 January 2004. Operated for 5351 sols |
Delta II 7925H |
Rosetta | 2 March 2004 | ESA European Union |
Gravity assist | Successful | Flyby in February 2007 en route to 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko[13] | Ariane 5G+ |
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | 12 August 2005 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 10 March 2006 | Atlas V 401 |
Phoenix | 4 August 2007 | NASA United States |
Lander | Successful | Landed on 25 May 2008. End of mission 2 November 2008 |
Delta II 7925 |
Dawn | 27 September 2007 | NASA United States |
Gravity assist | Successful | Flyby in February 2009 en route to 4 Vesta and Ceres | Delta II 7925H |
Fobos-Grunt | 8 November 2011 | Roskosmos Russia |
Orbiter Phobos sample |
Spacecraft failure | Never left LEO (intended to depart under own power) | Zenit-2M |
Yinghuo-1 | 8 November 2011 | CNSA China |
Orbiter | Failure Lost with Fobos-Grunt |
To have been deployed by Fobos-Grunt | Zenit-2M |
Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) |
26 November 2011 | NASA United States |
Rover | Operational | Landed on 6 August 2012 | Atlas V 541 |
Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) |
5 November 2013 | ISRO India |
Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 24 September 2014. Mission extended till 2020.[14] | PSLV-XL |
MAVEN | 18 November 2013 | NASA United States |
Orbiter | Operational | Orbit insertion on 22 September 2014[15] | Atlas V 401 |
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter | 14 March 2016 | ESA/Roscosmos European Union/ Russia |
Orbiter | Operational | Entered orbit on 19 October 2016 | Proton-M/Briz-M |
Schiaparelli EDM lander | 14 March 2016 | ESA European Union |
Lander | Spacecraft failure | Carried by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Although the lander crashed,[16][17] engineering data on the first five minutes of entry was successfully retrieved.[18][19] | Proton-M/Briz-M |
InSight | 5 May 2018[20][21] | NASA United States |
Lander | Operational | Landed on 26 November 2018. | Atlas V 401 |
MarCO | 5 May 2018[20][21][22] | NASA United States |
Two CubeSats flyby supporting InSight | Successful | Flyby 26 November 2018. Last contact Feb 2019 | Atlas V 401 |
Emirates Mars Mission | 19 July 2020[23] | MBRSC United Arab Emirates |
Orbiter | En route | Arrives February 2021. | H-IIA |
Tianwen-1 orbiter | 23 July 2020[24] | CNSA China |
Orbiter | En route | Proposed orbit insertion: 11-24 February 2021 | Long March 5 |
Tianwen-1 lander/rover | 23 July 2020[24] | CNSA China |
Lander/rover | En route | Proposed landing: 23 April 2021 | Long March 5 |
Tianwen-1 deployable camera[25] | 23 July 2020[24] | CNSA China |
Satellite to image Tianwen-1 | N/A | Photographed the Tianwen-1 spacecraft while en route to Mars. Will flyby Mars. Deployed from Tianwen-1 | Long March 5 |
Perseverance rover | 30 July 2020[26] | NASA United States |
Rover | En route | Proposed landing: 18 February 2021[27] | Atlas V 541 |
Ingenuity helicopter | 30 July 2020[28] | NASA United States |
Helicopter | En route | Proposed landing: 18 February 2021[28] To be deployed from the Perseverance rover. | Atlas V 541 |
Mars landing locations
There are a number of derelict orbiters around Mars whose location is not known precisely; there is a proposal to search for small moons, dust rings, and old orbiters with the Optical Navigation Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. [29] There should be 8 derelict Mars orbiters barring unforeseen events if they have not decayed as of 2016.[30] One example is Mariner 9, which entered Mars orbit in 1971 and 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.[31] The Viking 1 orbiter is predicted not to decay until at least 2019.[32] One orbiter that is confirmed to have undergone Mars atmospheric entry is Mars Climate Orbiter.
Timeline
Future missions
In development
Mission | Organization | Launch | Type |
---|---|---|---|
ExoMars 2022 | ESA European Union SRI RAS Russia |
2022[33][34] | Lander, rover |
Mars Terahertz Microsatellite[35] | NICT, ISSL Japan |
2022[36] | Orbiter, lander |
Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (Mangalyaan 2) | ISRO India |
2024[37][38] | Orbiter and possibly a lander |
Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) | JAXA Japan |
2024[39][40] | Orbiter |
Psyche | NASA United States |
2023 | Flyby En route to 16 Psyche |
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer | ESA European Union |
2025 | Flyby En route to Jupiter |
Proposals
Mission | Organisation | Proposed launch |
Type |
---|---|---|---|
MELOS rover | JAXA Japan |
2022 | Rover and aircraft |
Next Mars Orbiter (NeMO) | NASA United States |
2022[41] | Telecomm orbiter[42] (originally proposed for 2022) |
Starship Demo mission | SpaceX United States |
2022 | Lander, cargo[43] |
Biological Oxidant and Life Detection (BOLD) | Washington State University United States |
2022 | Landing probes and Impactors |
Mars-Grunt | Roscosmos Russia |
2024 | Orbiter, lander, ascent vehicle, sample-return |
Starship Crewed mission | SpaceX United States |
2024 or 2026 | Lander, cargo, crew[44] |
Icebreaker Life | NASA United States |
2026 | Lander |
Deimos and Phobos Interior Explorer (DePhine) | ESA European Union |
2030 | Orbiter and moon flybys |
Mars MetNet | FMI Finland IKI Russia INTA Spain |
TBD | Impactors |
Mars Geyser Hopper | NASA United States |
TBD | Hopper |
Mars Micro Orbiter (MMO) | NASA United States |
? | Orbiter |
Phobos And Deimos & Mars Environment | NASA United States |
? | Orbiter |
Mars Exploration Ice Mapper | NASA United States Canadian Space Agency Canada |
2026 | Orbiter |
Missions to the moons of Mars
Missions dedicated to explore the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. Many missions to Mars have also included dedicated observations of the Moons, while this section is about missions focused solely on them. There have been three unsuccessful dedicated missions and many proposals. Because of the proximity of the Mars moons to Mars, any mission to them may also be considered a mission to Mars from some perspectives.
There have been at least three proposals in the United States Discovery Program, including PADME, PANDORA, and MERLIN.[46] The ESA has also considered a sample return mission, one of the latest known as Martian Moon Sample Return or MMSR, and it may use heritage from an asteroid sample return mission.[47]
Proposal | Target | Reference |
---|---|---|
Aladdin | Phobos and Deimos | [48] |
DePhine | Phobos and Deimos | [49] |
DSR | Deimos | [50] |
Gulliver | Deimos | [51] |
Hall | Phobos and Deimos | [52] |
M-PADS | Phobos and Deimos | [53] |
Merlin | Phobos and Deimos | [54] |
MMSR (2011 ver.) | Phobos or Deimos | [47] |
OSRIS-REx 2 | Phobos or Deimos | [55] |
Pandora | Phobos and Deimos | [46] |
PCROSS | Phobos | [56] |
Phobos Surveyor | Phobos | [57] |
PRIME | Phobos | [58] |
Fobos-Grunt 2 | Phobos | [59] |
Phootprint | Phobos | [60][61] |
PADME | Phobos and Deimos | [62][63] |
In Japan, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) is developing a sample return mission to Phobos,[64][65] due to launch in 2024. This mission is called Martian Moons Exploration (MMX)[66] and is proposed as a flagship Strategic Large Mission.[67] MMX will build on the expertise the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would gain through the Hayabusa2 and SLIM missions.[68] As of January 2018, MMX is set for launch in September 2024.[69]
Planned mission | Target | Reference |
---|---|---|
Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) | Phobos and Deimos | [66] |
Three missions to land on Phobos have been launched; the Phobos program in the late 1980s saw the launch of Fobos 1 and Fobos 2, while the Fobos-Grunt sample return mission was launched in 2011. None of these missions were successful: Fobos 1 failed en route to Mars, Fobos 2 failed shortly before landing, and Fobos-Grunt never left low Earth orbit.
Launched mission | Target | Reference |
---|---|---|
Phobos 1 | Phobos | |
Phobos 2 | Phobos | |
Fobos-Grunt | Phobos |
Missions sent to the Martian system have returned data on Phobos and Deimos and missions specifically dedicated to the moons are a subset of missions Mars that often include dedicated goals to acquire data about these moons. An example of this is the imaging campaigns by Mars Express of the Mars moons.
Osiris-Rex 2 was a proposal to make OR a double mission, with the other one collecting samples from the two Mars moons.[70] In 2012, it was stated that this mission would be the both quickest and least expensive way to get samples from the Moons.[71]
The 'Red Rocks Project', a part of Lockheed Martin's "Stepping stones to Mars" program, proposed to explore Mars robotically from Deimos.[72][73]
Undeveloped concepts
examples only
1970s
- Mars 4NM and Mars 5NM – projects intended by the Soviet Union for heavy Marsokhod (in 1973 according to initial plan of 1970) and Mars sample return (planned for 1975). The missions were to be launched on the failed N1 rocket.[74]
- Mars 5M (Mars-79) – double-launching Soviet sample return mission planned to 1979 but cancelled due to complexity and technical problems
- Voyager-Mars – USA, 1970s – Two orbiters and two landers, launched by a single Saturn V rocket.
1990s
- Vesta – the multiaimed Soviet mission, developed in cooperation with European countries for realisation in 1991–1994 but canceled due to the Soviet Union disbanding, included the flyby of Mars with delivering the aerostat and small landers or penetrators followed by flybys of 1 Ceres or 4 Vesta and some other asteroids with impact of penetrator on the one of them.
- Mars Aerostat – Russian/French balloon part for cancelled Vesta mission and then for failed Mars 96 mission,[75] originally planned for the 1992 launch window, postponed to 1994 and then to 1996 before being cancelled.[76]
- Mars Together, combined U.S. and Russian mission study in the 1990s. To be launched by a Molinya with possible U.S. orbiter or lander.[77][78]
- Mars Environmental Survey – set of 16 landers planned for 1999–2009
- Mars-98 – Russian mission including an orbiter, lander, and rover, planned for 1998 launch opportunity as repeat of failured Mars 96 mission and cancelled due to lack of funding
2000s
- Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander – October 2001 – Mars lander (refurbished, became Phoenix lander)
- Kitty Hawk – Mars airplane micromission, proposed for 17 December 2003, the centennial of the Wright brothers' first flight.[79] Its funding was eventually given to the 2003 Mars Network project.[80]
- NetLander – 2007 or 2009 – Mars netlanders
- Beagle 3 – 2009 British lander mission meant to search for life, past or present.
- Mars Telecommunications Orbiter – September 2009 – Mars orbiter for telecommunications
2010s
- Sky-Sailor – 2014 – Plane developed by Switzerland to take detailed pictures of Mars surface
- Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher – 2018 rover concept, cancelled due to budget cuts in 2011. Sample cache goal later moved to Mars 2020 rover.[81]
- Red Dragon – Derivative of a Dragon 2 capsule by SpaceX, designed to land by aerobraking and retropropulsion. Planned for 2018, then 2020. Canceled in favor of the Starship system.
- Tumbleweed rover, wind-propelled sphere[82]
See also
References
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- "Pathfinder Rover Gets Its Name".
- Russian Space Web - Mars Missions
- "Chronology of Mars Missions". ResearchGate. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- "Missions to Mars". The Planetary Society.
- Perminov, V.G. (July 1999). The Difficult Road to Mars - A Brief History of Mars Exploration in the Soviet Union. NASA Headquarters History Division. pp. 34–60. ISBN 0-16-058859-6.
- Webster, Guy (11 April 2013). "NASA Mars Orbiter Images May Show 1971 Soviet Lander". NASA. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
- "Mars 3 Lander". NASA.
Mars 3 was the first spacecraft to make a successful soft landing on Mars.
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Pyle, Rod (2012). Destination Mars. Prometheus Books. pp. 73–78. ISBN 978-1-61614-589-7.
It was the first spacecraft to enter orbit around another world.
- NSSDC - Mars 6
- "Mars Pathfinder Science Results". NASA. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- Mars Pathfinder - Welcome to Mars - Sol 86
- "ESA - Beautiful new images from Rosetta's approach to Mars: OSIRIS UPDATE". Esa.int. 24 February 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- http://www.deccanherald.com/content/595344/isro-mars-orbiter-mission-life.html
- Brown, Dwayne; Neal-Jones, Nancy; Zubritsky, Elizabeth (21 September 2014). "NASA's Newest Mars Mission Spacecraft Enters Orbit around Red Planet". NASA. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- Clark, Stephen (24 May 2017). "Probe into crash of ESA lander recommends more checks on ExoMars descent craft". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
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- Chan, Sewell (20 October 2016). "No Signal From Mars Lander, but European Officials Declare Mission a Success". New York Times. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- Wall, Mike (21 October 2016). "ExoMars '96 Percent' Successful Despite Lander Crash: ESA". Space.com. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- Clark, Stephen (9 March 2016). "InSight Mars lander escapes cancellation, aims for 2018 launch". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- Chang, Kenneth (9 March 2016). "NASA Reschedules Mars InSight Mission for May 2018". New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- "Live coverage: Launch of Emirates Mars Mission rescheduled for Sunday". Spaceflight Now. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- Amos, Jonathan (23 July 2020). "China's Mars rover rockets away from Earth". BBC News. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- "天外送祝福,月圆迎华诞——天问一号以"自拍国旗"祝福祖国71华诞". Weixin Official Accounts Platform. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- "Nasa Mars rover: Perseverance launches from Florida". BBC News. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- mars.nasa.gov. "Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- "Mars Helicopter". NASA Mars. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
A technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars.
- M. Adler, et al. – Use of MRO Optical Navigation Camera .. (2012)
- NASA - This Month in NASA History: Mariner 9, 29 November 2011 – Vol. 4, Issue 9 Archived 14 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- Jones, Andrew (12 March 2020). "ExoMars rover mission delayed to late 2022". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- "Second ExoMars mission moves to next launch opportunity in 2020" (Press release). ESA. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- 惑星資源探査 ⼩型テラヘルツ探査機 (PDF) (in Japanese). National Institute of Information and Communications Technology. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
- Kasai, Yasuko (13 June 2018). "Tera-hertz Explorer, TEREX, Mission" (PDF). University of Tsukuba. NICT. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- "Episode 90 – An update on ISRO's activities with S Somanath and R Umamaheshwaran". AstrotalkUK. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- Jatiya, Satyanarayan (18 July 2019). "Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2955" (PDF). Retrieved 18 July 2019. Alt URL
- NASA confirms contribution to Japanese-led Mars mission. Stephen Clark, Space Flight Now. 20 November 2017.
- Back to the Red Planet. Johns Hopkins APL. 17 November 2017.
- Clark, Stephen (9 April 2018). "NASA is counting on long-lived Mars orbiter lasting another decade". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- Stephen, Clark (3 March 2015). "NASA eyes ion engines for Mars orbiter launching in 2022". Space Flight Now. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- Elon Musk: we can launch a manned mission to Mars by 2024 – video. The Guardian. 29 September 2017.
- http://www.popsci.com/elon-musk-wants-to-put-humans-on-mars-by-2025
- MERLIN: The Creative Choices Behind a Proposal to Explore the Martian Moons (Merlin and PADME info also)
- MMSR - a study for a Martian Moon Sample Return mission
- C. Pieters, et al. - Aladdin: Phobos-Deimos Sample Return
- DePhine: The Deimos and Phobos Interior Explorer. (PDF) Jurgen Oberst, Kai Wickhusen, Konrad Willner, Klaus Gwinner, Sofya Spiridonova, Ralph Kahle, Andrew Coates, Alain Herique, Dirk Plettemeier, Marina Dıaz-Michelena, Alexander Zakharo, Yoshifumi Futaana, Martin Patzold, Pascal Rosenblatt, David J. Lawrence, Valery Lainey, Alison Gibbings, Ingo Gerth. Advances in Space Research. Volume 62, Issue 8. pp: 2220-2238. 15 October 2018. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2017.12.028
- Small Body Sample Return to Deimos
- Dr. Britt - The Gulliver Mission: Sample Return from Deimos
- P. Lee, et al. - Hall: A Phobos and Deimos Sample Return Mission Archived 29 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Mars Phobos and Deimos Survey (M-PADS)–A Martian Moons Orbiter and Phobos Lander (Ball, Andrew J.; Price, Michael E.; Walker, Roger J.; Dando, Glyn C.; Wells, Nigel S. and Zarnecki, John C. (2009). Mars Phobos and Deimos Survey (M-PADS)–A Martian Moons Orbiter and Phobos Lander. Advances in Space Research, 43(1), pp. 120–127.)
- Murchie, S.; Eng, D.; Chabot, N.; Guo, Y.; Arvidson, R.; Yen, A.; Trebi-Ollennu, A.; Seelos, F.; Adams, E.; Fountain, G. (2014). "MERLIN: Mars-Moon Exploration, Reconnaissance and Landed Investigation". Acta Astronautica. 93: 475–482. Bibcode:2014AcAau..93..475M. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.10.014.
- Elifritz, T. L. - OSIRIS-REx II to Mars
- Colaprete, A, et al. - PCROSS — Phobos Close Rendevous [sic] Observation Sensing Satellite
- Phobos Surveyor - Space Safety Magazine
- PRIME Archived 10 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- SSM - Phobos-Grunt 2 Bound for Launch in 2020, Russians Confirmed While Celebrating Sputnik
- Barraclough, Simon; Ratcliffe, Andrew; Buchwald, Robert; Scheer, Heloise; Chapuy, Marc; Garland, Martin (16 June 2014). Phootprint: A European Phobos Sample Return Mission (PDF). 11th International Planetary Probe Workshop. Airbus Defense and Space. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
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- Lee, Pascal; Bicay, Michael; Colapre, Anthony; Elphic, Richard (17–21 March 2014). Phobos And Deimos & Mars Environment (PADME): A LADEE-Derived Mission to Explore Mars's Moons and the Martian Orbital Environment (PDF). 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2014).
- Reyes, Tim (1 October 2014). "Making the Case for a Mission to the Martian Moon Phobos". Universe Today. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
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