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 (Doctor Who) space programme sent a series of manned missions to Mars. Mars Probes 6 and 7 made contact with a group of radioactive aliens orbiting the planet on a peaceful survey mission. On 31 October 2006, the Guinevere One probe was launched for an intended landing on Christmas Day, but was intercepted by the alien Sycorax before it could do so. The first human colonists arrived on Mars in 2058 and established Bowie Base One, a massive bio-dome where frozen Martian water deposits were used to grow vegetation. On 21 November 2059, the colony was destroyed when mission commander Captain Adelaide