NOZOMI (PLANET-B)
JAXA/ISAS's NOZOMI (PLANET-B) was Japan's first Mars explorer, launched on 1998-07-04 by M-V-3. It investigated the interaction between the Martian upper atmosphere and solar wind, observed the Martian magnetic field, and remotely sensed Mars and its satellites; repeated spacecraft problems prevented Mars-orbit insertion and the mission ended on 2003-12-09.
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Identity
- Aliases
- NOZOMIPLANET-BNozomi MissionPlanet-B
- Name
- NOZOMI (PLANET-B)
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- JAXA/ISAS's NOZOMI (PLANET-B) was Japan's first Mars explorer, launched on 1998-07-04 by M-V-3. It investigated the interaction between the Martian upper atmosphere and solar wind, observed the Martian magnetic field, and remotely sensed Mars and its satellites; repeated spacecraft problems prevented Mars-orbit insertion and the mission ended on 2003-12-09.
- Destination
- Heliocentric orbit
- End Date
- 2003-12-09
- Outcome
- NOZOMI did not achieve its planned Mars orbit. Multiple problems forced major trajectory changes and delayed the Mars approach; a defective thrust valve caused insufficient thrust and excessive fuel use, while later communication and thermal-control failures made orbit insertion impossible. The team abandoned Mars insertion on December 9, 2003 to avoid an impact, but NOZOMI still returned valuable interplanetary observations, including hydrogen Lyman-alpha measurements, and remains in a heliocentric orbit around the Sun near that of Mars.
- Programs
- -
- Start Date
- 1998-07-04
- Vehicle Families
- -
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 15, 2026 at 22:22:09 UTC
- Updated Time
- September 7, 2026 at 21:31:54 UTC
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