Mars 7 (Russian: Марс-7), also known as 3MP No.51P was a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1973 to consult Mars. A 3 MP space bus that included the final mission of the Mars program consisted of a lander and a coastal stage with instruments to study Mars as it flew over. Due to a malfunction, the lander was unable to perform a maneuver necessary to enter the Martian atmosphere, missing the planet and remaining in heliocentric orbit along with the coastal stage. The Mars 7 spacecraft carried a number of instruments for studying Mars. The lander was equipped with a thermometer and barometer to determine surface conditions, an accelerometer and radio altimeter for descent, and tools to analyze surface material, including a mass spectrometer. The coastal stage, or bus, carried a magnetometer, plasma traps, cosmic ray and micrometeoride detectors, stereo antennas, and an instrument for studying proton and electron flows from the sun.
Built by Lavochkin, Mars 7 was the second of two 3 MP spacecraft launched to Mars in 1973, having been preceded by Mars 6. for the two landers. However, Mars 4 failed to enter orbit and Mars 5 failed after a few days in orbit.
Mars 7 was launched from a Proton-K carrier beam with a Blok D upper stage, in flight from site 81/24 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch took place at 17:00:17 UTC on August 9, 1973, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and upper stage in a low parking orbit before Blok D fired to push Mars 7 into a heliocentric orbit directed to Mars. The spacecraft made a course correction on August 16, 1973.
The Mars 7 lander separated from the overflight bus on March 9, 1974. However, it was eventually released to begin its descent. Due to a retro-rocket failure, the spacecraft missed the atmosphere of Mars and, instead of landing, flew past the coastal phase, with a closer finish line of 1,300 km (810 mi). Known failures with the spacecraft transistors were blamed for the failure, along with that of Mars 4.
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