Mars atmospheric entry
Entry into Mars' CO2-N2 atmosphere using heat shields and parachutes.
Mars atmospheric entry is the process by which a spacecraft enters the atmosphere of Mars. High-velocity entry into Martian air creates a CO2-N2 plasma, distinct from the O2-N2 plasma of Earth air, and is affected by radiative effects of hot CO2 gas and suspended Martian dust. Flight regimes for entry, descent, and landing systems include aerocapture, hypersonic, supersonic, and subsonic phases.
- Atmosphere composition
- CO2-N2 plasma
- Key flight regimes
- aerocapture, hypersonic, supersonic, subsonic
- Typical deceleration technologies
- thermal protection systems, parachutes, retropropulsion
- First successful landing
- Viking 1 (1976)
- Notable lost missions
- Mars 2, Mars 3, Mars 6, Beagle 2, Mars Polar Lander, Deep Space 2, Schiaparelli EDM
Lore & Background
Mars atmospheric entry has been attempted by numerous spacecraft since the early 1970s. The Soviet Mars 2 and Mars 3 both entered the atmosphere in 1971; Mars 2 crashed, while Mars 3 soft-landed but lost contact after 20 seconds. Mars 6 entered in 1974 but crashed. The United States' Viking 1 and Viking 2 both successfully landed in 1976. Mars Pathfinder entered in 1997, decelerating from about 7.3 km/s to 0.4 km/s over three minutes before deploying a parachute and releasing its heat shield.
Reader's Guide
Mars atmospheric entry is a critical phase of any landing mission, requiring careful management of extreme heat and deceleration. Thermal protection systems and atmospheric friction have historically reduced most kinetic energy, with parachutes and sometimes retropropulsion used for final landing. High-altitude high-velocity retropropulsion is being researched for future heavier cargo landings. NASA has studied SpaceX's Falcon 9 reentry burns in the 70–40 km altitude range as a Mars-relevant retropulsion regime. Deployable decelerators such as Disk-Gap-Band parachutes and inflatable entry devices (tension cone, isotensoid, stacked torus) have been developed, with Viking-era research pioneering the technology.
Did You Know?
- Mars atmospheric entry creates a CO2-N2 plasma, unlike Earth's O2-N2 plasma.
- Viking Program era researchers were the true pioneers of deployable decelerator technology for Mars entry.
More in Exploration of Mars 1-24
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