Mars 2MV-3

home
topic index

Mars 1 / 2MV-4
Credit - NASA

Manufacturer's Designation: 2MV-3. Class: Planetary. Type: Venus. Destination: Venus. Nation: Russia. Manufacturer: Korolev.

Mars probe intended to make a soft landing on Mars.

Typical orbit: 170 km x 170 km at 65 degrees inclination. Mass: 890 kg (1,960 lb).

Mars 2MV-3 Chronology

1962 November 4 - Sputnik 24 - Program: Mars. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: LC1. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz. FAILURE: After T+260 sec, a malfunction of the pressurization system of the central sustainer led to cavitation in the oxidizer pipeline and LOX pump, followed at T+292s by the fuel pump. Mass: 890 kg (1,960 lb). Perigee: 170 km (100 mi). Apogee: 170 km (100 mi). Inclination: 64.80 deg. Period: 87.90 min.
Mars probe intended to make a soft landing on Mars. Although the escape stage and payload reached orbit, the strong third stage vibrations shook a fuse loose from its mount in the main nozzle of the escape stage Block L's engine. The engine could not be ignited and remained in Earth orbit. It decayed about two months after insertion.

Bibliography:

McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.
Varfolomyev, Timothy, Spaceflight, "Soviet Rocketry that Conquered Space - Part 5", 1998, Volume 40, page 85.
Novosti Kosmonavtiki, "Otmenenniy Start "Molniya-M"", 1997, Issue 1, page 29.
Novosti Kosmonavtiki, "Na Mars!", 1996, Issue 20, page 53.
National Space Science Center Planetary Page, As of 19 February 1999.. Web Address when accessed: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planetary_home.html.

Contact us with any corrections, additions, or comments.