The Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions
consisted of identical spacecraft,
each with a bus/orbiter module and an attached descent/lander module. The primary
scientific objective of the Mars 2 descent module was to perform a soft landing on Mars,
return images from the surface, and return data on meteorological conditions, atmospheric
composition, and mechanical and chemical properties of the soil. The Mars 2 lander descent
sequence failed and the spacecraft impacted the surface and was destroyed.