Mars 2

The Mars 2 was an unmanned space probe of the Mars program, a series of unmanned Mars landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. The Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions consisted of identical spacecraft, each with an orbiter and an attached lander. The orbiter is identical to the Venera 9 bus or orbiter. They were launched by a Proton-K heavy launch vehicle with a Blok D upper stage. The lander of Mars 2 became the first man-made object to reach the surface of Mars. On May 19, 1971, the proton-k-2 blasted from Baikonur Cosmodrome. After the first stage separated the second stage started. The third stage engine blasted Mars 2 into parking orbit then the Blok-d set Mars 2 to Mars 2 then the probe was deployed.