[FPSPACE] Zond 2 - did it have a lander for Mars?

[Drew LePage]

Larry,

Well, I wrote the original EJASA paper cited below (as well as a more 
technical paper on the subject that appeared in JBIS in 1993).  A couple 
of public Russian sources (available years after I originally wrote the 
paper) indicate that Zond 2 was an Object 3MV-4 photographic flyby probe 
and not a 3MV-3 lander attempt as I originally conjectured.  It is still 
possible these sources are in error or are purposely misleading for some 
reason.  But even if Zond 2 was a "just" a flyby and reached Mars three 
weeks after Mariner 4, it's camera payload was far more capable that the 
Mariner imaging system and would have returned over an order of 
magnitude more imaging data than Mariner 4 did had it been successful.

Still, there are a number of questions still left unanswered about Zond 
2: If Zond 2 was "just" a photo flyby mission, why was it placed into a 
higher energy (yet slower) trajectory to Mars that was better suited for 
a lander mission instead of a faster trajectory to beat Mariner 4?  Was 
a malfunctioning 3MV-3 lander swapped out at the last moment with the 
3MV-4 Zond 2 without enough time to reprogram the launch vehicle?  Was 
there suppose to be other 3MV-type payloads launched during the November 
1964 launch window to accompany Zond 2 as had been attempted in every 
earlier (and subsequent) Mars or Venus Launch window?  What happened to 
them?  Did the problems with the deployment of the Zond 2 solar panels 
cause a scrub of these launches or were there some other problems?  Was 
the 3MV-4A Zond 3 test mission past the Moon in 1965 one of these sister 
probes that didn't make the 1964 Mars launch window?

Just my two cents worth.

Drew LePage


LARRY KLAES wrote:
> Hi David,
>  
> I have been reading accounts back and forth saying Zond 2 did have a
> lander capsule and others saying it did not. 
>  
> The idea here - and it is not mine; see this paper by Andrew Lepage:
>  
> ftp://ftp.seds.org/pub/info/newsletters/ejasa/1991/jasa9104.txt
>  
> Is that since the Soviets knew Mariner 3 and 4 were going to flyby
> Mars in 1965 and take photos, and that Zond 1 did carry a lander
> to Venus, that Zond 2 should have had a capsule to outshine the
> American effort. 
>  
> I just want to know a definite answer from an official source.
>  
> Thanks,
>  
> Larry
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> From: Kosmos327 at aol.com
> Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2009 12:45:42 -0500
> Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] Zond 2 - did it have a lander for Mars?
> To: ljk4 at msn.com
> CC: fpspace at friends-partners.org
>
>
> Larry,
>  
> I hope you're on to something here. I personally know that the 
> "official" story (even 40 years later) does NOT always match the truth.
>  
> My mantra is, "Trust what you can SEE, not what you are told." If you 
> have a hunch, don't give up until you POSITIVELY see the evidence for 
> yourself. Following this has helped me a great deal in my Almaz research.
>  
> Best of Luck!
>  
> David L. Rickman
>  
> In a message dated 2/6/2009 8:34:47 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, 
> ljk4 at msn.com writes:
>
>     Can it be determined once and for all and over four decades later
>     when it should
>     not matter any more in terms of geopolitical prestige, if Zond 2
>     had a lander that was
>     meant to outshine Mariner 4's flyby of Mars in 1965?
>      
>     Documents and photos would be nice.
>      
>     Thanks,
>      
>     Larry
>
>  
>
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-- 
Andrew J. LePage
Senior Project Scientist

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