Mars 2M No.522,
also known as Mars M-69 No.522 and sometimes identified by NASA as Mars 1969B, was a
Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1969.
It consisted of an
orbiter. The spacecraft was intended to image the surface of Mars using three cameras, with images being encoded for transmission back to Earth as television signals. It also carried a
radiometer
A radiometer or roentgenometer is a device for measuring the radiant flux (power) of electromagnetic radiation. Generally, a radiometer is an infrared radiation detector or an ultraviolet detector. Microwave radiometers operate in the microwave w ...
, a series of
spectrometer
A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomenon where the ...
s, and an instrument to detect
water vapour in the
atmosphere of Mars. It was one of two Mars 2M spacecraft, along with
Mars 2M No.521
Mars 2M No.521, also known as Mars M-69 No.521 and sometimes identified by NASA as Mars 1969A, was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1969. It consisted of an orbiter. The spacecraft was intended to image the surface of Mar ...
, which was launched in 1969 as part of the
Mars program. Neither launch was successful.
Launch
Mars 2M No.522 was launched at 10:33:00 UTC on 2 April 1969 atop a Proton-K 8K78K
carrier rocket with a
Block D upper stage, flying from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/24.
One of the first stage engines caught fire almost immediately at liftoff. The remaining engines managed to compensate for about 30 seconds of flight, but the thrust section fire eventually resulted in loss of control.
The engines shut down, and the rocket fell back to Earth and exploded 41 seconds after ignition.
Scientific Instruments
Scientific instruments on the spacecraft were:
* Radiometer
* Ultraviolet spectrometer
* Instrument to measure water vapor levels
* Radiation detector
* Gamma spectrometer
* Hydrogen mass spectrometer
* Helium mass spectrometer
* Spectrometer
* Low-energy ion spectrometer
* Imaging system (three on board cameras)
Post-accident effect
Following the crash of the ''Mars 2M No.522'' launch vehicle, the wind spread toxic
propellant
A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or other motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicles, the e ...
back across the launch complex, which made the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch complex unusable until rain washed the toxic residuals away. Launch personnel were trapped and unable to leave the cosmodrome as a pool of spilled nitrogen tetroxide was blocking one of the entryways out, while other entryway was blocked by the still-intact second stage of the rocket. By the time this had happened, the alignment of Earth and Mars necessary to launch spacecraft had ended, and the Soviets were unable to launch any further Mars probes until 1971. It also resulted in delays to a number of
Luna spacecraft scheduled for launch in 1969.
The accident left a deep impression on Soviet military personnel attending the launch and helped spur the development of next-generation ballistic missiles with safer solid propellants.
See also
*
List of missions to Mars
References
External links
Cornell University's Mars Missions page Professor Chris Mihos, Case Western Reserve University
Spacecraft launched in 1969
1969 in the Soviet Union
Mars program
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