Mars 1
 The 8K78 launcher, carrying the Mars-1 probe, blasts off from Baikonur. Credit: RKK Energia |
Mars 1, also known as 1962 Beta Nu 1, Mars 2MV-4 and Sputnik 23, was an automatic interplanetary station launched in the direction of Mars on November 1, 1962, the first of the Soviet Mars probe program, with the intent of flying by the planet at a distance of about 11,000 km (6,800 mi). It was designed to image the surface and send back data on cosmic radiation, micrometeoroid impacts and Mars' magnetic field, radiation environment, atmospheric structure, and possible organic compounds.
After leaving Earth orbit, the spacecraft and the Molniya (rocket) booster fourth stage separated and the solar panels were deployed. Early telemetry indicated that there was a leak in one of the gas valves in the orientation system so the spacecraft was transferred to gyroscopic stabilization. Sixty-one radio transmissions were held, initially at two-day intervals and later at five days in which a large amount of interplanetary data were collected.
On 21 March 1963, when the spacecraft was at a distance of 106,760,000 km (66,340,000 mi) from Earth on its way to Mars, communications ceased, probably due to failure of the spacecraft's antenna orientation system. Mars 1 closest approach to Mars probably occurred on June 19, 1963 at a distance of approximately 193,000 km (120,000 mi), after which the spacecraft entered an orbit around the Sun.
Mars 1 was a modified Venera-type spacecraft in the shape of a cylinder 3.3 m (11 ft) long and 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter. The spacecraft measured 4 m (13 ft) across with the solar panels and radiators deployed. The cylinder was divided into two compartments. The upper 2.7 m (8.9 ft), the orbital module, contained guidance and on-board propulsion systems. The experiment module, containing the scientific instrumentation, comprised the bottom 0.6 m (2.0 ft) of the cylinder. A 1.7 m (5.6 ft) parabolic high gain antenna was used for communication, along with an omnidirectional antenna and a semi-directional antenna. Power was supplied by two solar panel wings with a total area of 2.6 m2 (28 sq ft) affixed to opposite sides of the spacecraft. Power was stored in a 42 ampere-hour cadmium-nickel battery.
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