# The most important missions in the exploration of Mars

From Mariner 4's first flyby to the Curiosity, Perseverance and Zhurong rovers: the probes, landers and robots that showed us the Red Planet. Which one mattered most?

- 3 votes · 21 items
- Sep 16, 2022 · G. Côté
- https://even.best/en/l/2298/the-most-important-missions-in-the-exploration-of-mars

## Top 21

1. **Mars 3** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — The Soviet probe made the first soft landing in 1971.
2. **Viking 1** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — The first American lander, in 1976, looking for life.
3. **Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — India reached Mars orbit on its first try, in 2014.
4. **Mariner 4** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — First successful flyby of Mars in 1965 and the first close-up photos.
5. **Mariner 9** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — First spacecraft to orbit another planet, in 1971.
6. **Viking 2** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Viking 1's twin, set down on Utopia Planitia.
7. **Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — An airbag landing and the first Mars rover, in 1997.
8. **Mars Global Surveyor** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — It mapped the whole planet for almost ten years.
9. **2001 Mars Odyssey** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — It found water ice under the surface and still serves as a relay.
10. **Mars Express** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The European Space Agency's first Mars mission, in 2003.
11. **Spirit** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Opportunity's twin rover, landed in 2004.
12. **Opportunity** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Planned for 90 days, it drove for almost fifteen years.
13. **Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Its HiRISE camera photographs Mars in unmatched detail.
14. **Phoenix** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — It touched water ice near the north pole in 2008.
15. **Curiosity** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — NASA's big rolling laboratory, in Gale Crater since 2012.
16. **MAVEN** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — It studies how Mars lost its atmosphere.
17. **ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The European-Russian mission tracking methane.
18. **InSight** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — It listened to marsquakes from 2018 to 2022.
19. **Hope** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The United Arab Emirates' probe, in orbit since 2021.
20. **Tianwen-1 and Zhurong** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — China landed its first rover on Mars in 2021.
21. **Perseverance and Ingenuity** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The rover collecting samples and the first helicopter on another planet.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.