In May 1971, the Soviet Union launched twin missions to Mars: Mars 2 and 3. Both spacecraft made it to the Red Planet, arriving a little less than a week apart. But the Mars 2 lander crashed into the martian surface on Nov. 27 when its parachute failed to deploy. Mars 3’s lander separated from its Continue reading "Dec. 2, 1971: Mars 3 lands on the Moon" The post Dec. 2, 1971: Mars 3 lands on the Moon appeared first on Astronomy Magazine .