# Mars7FlybyBus

> The Mars 7 interplanetary station was intended to be a Mars lander. It consisted of a flyby bus and a descent module.A malfunction on board caused the lander to miss the planet.

**Wikidata**: [Q112960304](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q112960304)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/mars7flybybus

## Summary
The Mars7FlybyBus was the carrier component of the Mars 7 interplanetary station, an unmanned space probe launched by the Soviet Union on August 9, 1973. Designed to transport a descent module to Mars, the mission failed to achieve its landing objective due to a malfunction that caused the lander to miss the planet entirely.

## Key Facts
- **COSPAR ID:** 1973-053E
- **NSSDCA ID:** 1973-053E
- **Launch Date:** August 9, 1973
- **Launch Site:** Baikonur Cosmodrome
- **Launch Vehicle:** Proton-K (Russian/Soviet carrier rocket)
- **Classification:** Space probe (unmanned robotic spacecraft)
- **Mission Objective:** Intended to serve as a Mars lander station
- **Composition:** Consisted of a flyby bus and a descent module
- **Mission Outcome:** Failure; a malfunction caused the lander to miss the planet

## FAQs
### Q: What was the Mars7FlybyBus?
A: The Mars7FlybyBus was the main bus component of the Mars 7 interplanetary station. It was designed to carry a descent module intended to land on the surface of Mars.

### Q: When was the Mars7FlybyBus launched?
A: The station was launched on August 9, 1973, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome using a Proton-K carrier rocket.

### Q: Why did the Mars 7 mission fail?
A: The mission failed due to a malfunction on board the station. This technical issue caused the descent module (lander) to miss Mars rather than descend to the surface as planned.

## Why It Matters
The Mars7FlybyBus represents a specific class of Soviet space hardware utilized during the intense era of interplanetary exploration in the 1970s. As part of the Mars 7 station, it illustrates the engineering architecture of splitting missions into a "flyby bus" for transport and a "descent module" for surface operations. While the mission ultimately failed to land—highlighting the extreme difficulty of Mars exploration during that period—the vehicle remains a documented instance of the Proton-K rocket's utilization for deep space missions. It serves as a historical data point in the timeline of robotic spacecraft development and the Soviet attempts to reach the Martian surface.

## Notable For
- Being part of the Mars 7 interplanetary station mission.
- Utilizing the Proton-K launch vehicle, a prominent Russian/Soviet carrier rocket.
- Its distinct two-part composition: a flyby bus and a descent module.
- A mission failure attributed to an onboard malfunction resulting in missing the target planet.

## Body
### Mission Architecture
The Mars 7 interplanetary station was structured as a composite spacecraft. It comprised two primary elements: a flyby bus and a descent module. The flyby bus served as the interplanetary drive system, designed to traverse space and deploy the descent module upon reaching Mars. The entire configuration was classified as an unmanned robotic space probe, intended to explore outer space beyond Earth's orbit.

### Launch and Operations
The station was launched on **August 9, 1973**, originating from the **Baikonur Cosmodrome**. It was deployed into space using a **Proton-K** carrier rocket, a heavy-lift launch vehicle previously used in Soviet space missions.

### Mission Failure
The primary goal of the Mars 7 station was to act as a Mars lander. However, the mission was compromised by a **malfunction on board**. As a result of this failure, the lander element failed to execute a correct intercept trajectory, causing it to **miss the planet** entirely. Consequently, the descent module could not perform its planned landing operations.