In 1971, on December 2, the descent module of the Soviet Mars-3 station made a soft landing on the surface of Mars for the first time in history.
The Mars-3 automatic interplanetary station consisted of two modules: descent and orbital. The lander delivered to the surface of the Red Planet a pennant with the image of the USSR coat of arms and a small rover called the "Passability Assessment Device - Mars" (PROP-M). But due to the dust storm raging on the planet at that time, communication with the module was interrupted 14.5 seconds after landing. During this time, only a vague fragment of the image of the Martian surface was transmitted to Earth.
The orbital station continued its work and made 20 revolutions around Mars. As a result of the mission, the properties of the surface and atmosphere were determined, and it was also found that the water vapor content in the atmosphere of the planet is 5 thousand. times less than on Earth.
Who and how continued the exploration of Mars, the most thoroughly studied planet of the Solar system after Earth, - in the TASS infographic.
 |
| Infographics. The Martian Chronicles. |
| Source: TASS |
