Mars 1969B
Encyclopedia
Mars 2M No.522, also known as Mars M-69 No.522 and sometimes identified by NASA as Mars 1969B, was a Soviet
spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1969. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. The spacecraft was intended to image the surface of Mars using three cameras, with images being encoded for transmission back to Earth as television signals. It also carried a radiometer, a series of spectrometers, and an instrument to detect water vapour in the atmosphere of Mars
. It was one of two Mars 2M spacecraft, along with Mars 2M No.521, which were launched in 1969 as part of the Mars program. Neither launch was successful.
Mars 2M No.522 was launched at 10:33:00 UTC on 2 April 1969 atop a Proton-K
8K78K carrier rocket with a Blok D
upper stage, flying from Site 81/24
at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
. Two hundredths of a second after launch, one of the Proton's first stage engines caught fire and exploded. The rocket continued to fly on its remaining engines for about twenty five seconds, before it pitched over and began to fly horizontally. Around forty one seconds after launch, it came down about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the launch pad. The wind spread toxic propellant back across the launch complex, which made it unusable until rain washed the propellant away. By the time this had happened, the alignment of Earth and Mars necessary to launch spacecraft had ended, and the Soviet Union was unable to launch any further Mars probes until 1971. It also resulted in delays to a number of Luna
spacecraft scheduled for launch in 1969.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1969. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. The spacecraft was intended to image the surface of Mars using three cameras, with images being encoded for transmission back to Earth as television signals. It also carried a radiometer, a series of spectrometers, and an instrument to detect water vapour in the atmosphere of Mars
Atmosphere of Mars
The atmosphere of Mars is relatively thin and is composed mostly of carbon dioxide . There has been interest in studying its composition since the detection of trace amounts of methane, which may indicate the presence of life on Mars, but may also be produced by a geochemical process, volcanic or...
. It was one of two Mars 2M spacecraft, along with Mars 2M No.521, which were launched in 1969 as part of the Mars program. Neither launch was successful.
Mars 2M No.522 was launched at 10:33:00 UTC on 2 April 1969 atop a Proton-K
Proton-K
The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index, 8K82K, is a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and is launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan...
8K78K carrier rocket with a Blok D
Block D
Blok D is an upper stage used on Soviet and later Russian expendable launch systems, including the N1, Proton-K and Zenit. There were plans to use it for some other rockets as well ....
upper stage, flying from Site 81/24
Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81
Site 81 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome is a launch site used, along with Site 200, by Proton rockets. It consists of two launch pads, areas 23 and 24. Area 24 is currently used for Proton-K and Proton-M launches, while Area 23 is currently inactive....
at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
. Two hundredths of a second after launch, one of the Proton's first stage engines caught fire and exploded. The rocket continued to fly on its remaining engines for about twenty five seconds, before it pitched over and began to fly horizontally. Around forty one seconds after launch, it came down about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the launch pad. The wind spread toxic propellant back across the launch complex, which made it unusable until rain washed the propellant away. By the time this had happened, the alignment of Earth and Mars necessary to launch spacecraft had ended, and the Soviet Union was unable to launch any further Mars probes until 1971. It also resulted in delays to a number of Luna
Luna programme
The Luna programme , occasionally called Lunik or Lunnik, was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. Fifteen were successful, each designed as either an orbiter or lander, and accomplished many firsts in space exploration...
spacecraft scheduled for launch in 1969.
External links
- Cornell University's Mars Missions page
- The Soviet Mars program, Professor Chris Mihos, Case Western Reserve University