\<COLOUR 1> LAUNCH SITE: \<COLOUR 0> Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Central Asia
\<COLOUR 1> WEIGHT: \<COLOUR 0> 4.6 tonnes
\<COLOUR 1> MISSION: \<COLOUR 0> Mars orbit/landing
\<COLOUR 1> IN ORBIT: \<COLOUR 0> November 27, 1971; 1,380/25,000 km
\<COLOUR 1> COUNTRY: \<COLOUR 0> USSR
\<COLOUR 1> COMMENTS: \<COLOUR 0> Second probe to go into Martian orbit (Mariner 9 is first); released lander crashlands without returning data but becomes the first man-made object to reach another planet; the identical Mars 3, launched May 28, 1971, arrives in orbit December 2, 1971; transmits from the surface for just 20 seconds.