Mars has become quite the hot spot. China and the United States landed rovers in 2021, while the UAE became the first Arab country to put a probe in the planet’s orbit. NASA, the ESA, India, and Japan all have upcoming missions, and the coming decades are slated for ambitious attempts to retrieve samples and even put human boots in the soil.
But this isn’t the first time the red planet has drawn our attention. While the 20th century’s space race is historically associated with the moon, the United States and Soviet Union also launched a slate of Mars missions. The USSR was especially attracted to Mars, seeing it as an opportunity to score their own historic moments after the American success of Apollo 11. And on December 2, 1971, Mars 3 achieved orbit, then sent down a lander that became the first spacecraft to safely touch Mars.
