Saturday, August 5, 2017

Mars 6, Soviet probe, launched 1973


Mars 6, a Soviet probe to the Red Planet, launched August 5, 1973.  It carried a lander which detached as Mars 6 flew past the planet March 12, 1974.  The spacecraft took pictures as it flew by at an altitude of 990 miles.

The lander transmitted data for 224 seconds as it descended through the Martian atmosphere.  A chip had degraded during the trip and the data was unusable.  The lander went silent just before touchdown.


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