Search for the Mars 2 Debris Field

NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this image to aid in the search for the missing lander, Mars 2. If the debris field is found, it could serve as a future landing location to study the effects of crash landing on the Martian surface.

Despite the recent successes of missions landing on Mars, like the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) or the arrival of new satellites, such as India's MOM orbiter, the Red Planet is also a graveyard of failed missions.

The Soviet Mars 2 lander was the first man-made object to touch the surface of the Red Planet when it crashed landed on 27 November 1971. It is believed that the descent stage malfunctioned after the lander entered the atmosphere at too steep an angle. Attempts to contact the probe after the crash were unsuccessful.

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18888