On December 2, 1971, the descent vehicle of the Mars-3 automatic interplanetary station (AIS) for the first time performed soft landing on the surface of the Red Planet.
Mars-3 was designated to explore Mars both from the orbit and directly from the planet's surface and consisted of an orbital station (an artificial Mars satellite) and a descent vehicle with an automatic Mars station.
AIS Mars-3 was launched on May 28, 1971, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome using a Proton-K launch vehicle with an additional 4th stage of the D booster unit. The flight to Mars lasted more than 6 months.
The commemorative stamp provides a symbolic image of a carrier rocket being launch into space; the main image features the Mars-3 automatic interplanetary station.
| Nominal |
Paper |
Printing method |
Format |
Edition |
| Letter «B» |
Coated |
Offset |
105х148 |
18 000 |