Exploration of Mars failed upon impact. Mars 4 flew by the planet at a range of 2200 km returning one swath of pictures and radio occultation data, which constituted the first detection of the nightside ionosphere on Mars. Mars 7 probe separated prematurely from the carrying vehicle due to a problem in the operation of one of the onboard systems (attitude control or retro-rockets) and missed the planet by . In 1964, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory made two attempts at reaching Mars. Mariner 3 and Mariner 4 were identical spacecraft designed to carry out the first flybys of Mars. Mariner 3 was launched
Mars habitat Space medicine One idea for a Mars missions is a library sent to the surface of that planet. The Phoenix lander, which landed on the North polar surface of Mars in 2008, included a DVD library that was heralded as the first library on Mars. The Phoenix library DVD would be taken by future explorers who could access the content on the disk. The disc, both a memorial to the past and a message to the future, took 15 years to produce. The content on the disc includes "Visions of Mars". One idea for exploration is knowledge arks for space,