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 (a Soviet automatic interplanetary station) 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.
In order to conduct investigations both on the flight route and in the orbit of the artificial satellite of Mars, the Mars-3 AMS orbiter was equipped with systems to obtain images of the Mars surface, to study the distribution of water vapor over the planet disk, to determine the gas composition and density of the atmosphere, to study the dielectric permittivity, polarization and surface temperature of the planet, and for measuring the magnetic field along the flight path and near the planet, etc. Besides, the Mars-3 apparatus carried 2 photo television cameras with different focal lengths for photographing the surface of Mars, and equipment Stereo for the joint Soviet-French experiment for the evaluation of the Sun's radio emission at the frequency of 169 MHz. 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.
In addition to the issue of the postcards, JSC Marka will produce special cancels for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Khimki of the Moscow Region, Baikonur, Penza, and Yevpatoria of the Republic of Crimea.
Design Artists: A. Drobyshev (stamp), R. Komsa (illustration).
Quantity: 18 thousand postcards.
« back