Launch of Mars 2

Mars 2 was a Soviet space probe consisting of an orbiter and a lander, launched on a Proton rocket in the same month as its twin, Mars 3. It reached Mars in late 1971, during a huge global dust storm that covered the planet. The orbiter entered orbit and returned data about the planet's atmosphere, surface and magnetic field. The lander separated, but its descent system failed and it crashed, though it became the first human-made object to reach the surface of Mars. Mars 3, a few weeks later, achieved a soft landing but stopped transmitting after about twenty seconds. Both missions gave the Soviet space programme valuable experience, and the orbiters worked for several months.

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