Mars 1M No.2, designated ''Mars 1960B'' by NASA analysts and dubbed ''Marsnik 2'' by the Western media, was a
spacecraft launched as part of the
Soviet Union's
Mars programme, which was lost in a launch failure in 1960. 1M No.2, which was intended to explore Mars from
flyby trajectory, was destroyed after its
Molniya Molniya (Russian for ''lightning'') may refer to:
* Molniya (satellite), a Soviet military communications satellite
** Molniya orbit
* Molniya (explosive trap), a KGB explosive device
* Molniya (rocket), a variation of the Soyuz launch vehicle
* OKB ...
carrier rocket failed to achieve orbit.
Launch
Mars 1M No.2 was the second Mars 1M spacecraft to be launched, lifting off four days after its sister craft,
Mars 1M No.1, had been lost during the
Molniya Molniya (Russian for ''lightning'') may refer to:
* Molniya (satellite), a Soviet military communications satellite
** Molniya orbit
* Molniya (explosive trap), a KGB explosive device
* Molniya (rocket), a variation of the Soyuz launch vehicle
* OKB ...
8K78 rocket's maiden flight. 1M No.2 was carried by another Molniya, which had the
serial number
A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it.
Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...
L1-5M. The launch took place from
Site 1/5 at the
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
, with liftoff occurring at 13:51:03 UTC on 14 October 1960.
During preparations for the launch, an oxidiser leak in the second stage caused
liquid oxygen, at
cryogenic temperature
In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures.
The 13th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of “cryogenics” and “cr ...
, to spill around the engine's fuel inlet valve. This froze the stage's
RP-1 propellant, leaving the engine unable to ignite. As a result, the spacecraft failed to achieve Earth orbit.
Scientific Instruments
The spacecraft carried three scientific instruments in order to investigate Mars.
[Siddiqi, A. A., & Launius, R. (2002)]
Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes 1958-2000
They are as follows
*
Ultraviolet Spectrometer
*
Radiation Detector
*
Cosmic-ray Detector
See also
*
List of missions to Mars
*
List of Mars landers
*
List of artificial object on Mars
*
List of human mars missions
References
1960 in the Soviet Union
Spacecraft launched in 1960
Satellite launch failures
Mars program
Space accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union
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