Mars 2 (nonfiction)

Mars 2.

The Mars 2 was an unmanned space probe mission to Mars launched by the Soviet Union May 19, 1971 using using Proton-K heavy launch rocket with a Blok D upper stage. The identical Mars 3 spacecraft was launched nine days later.

The Mars 2 and Mars 3 spacecraft used identical designs: a 4MV bus/orbiter based on the Venera 9 design, and a landing module.

The Mars 2 descent module separated from the orbiter on November 27, 1971, about 4.5 hours before reaching Mars. After entering the atmosphere at approximately 6 km/s, the descent system on the landing module malfunctioned, possibly because the angle of entry was too steep: the module's parachute failed to deploy, the module crashed on the surface of Mars, and all contact was lost.

Fiction cross-reference

• Crimes against astronomical constants
• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Mars (nonfiction)

External links:

• Mars 2 @ Wikipedia
• Mars 3 @ Wikipedia