4MV
The 4MV planetary probe (short for 4th-generation Mars-Venus probe) is a designation for a common design used for Soviet unmanned probes to Mars and Venus. It was an incremental improvement of earlier 3MV probes and was used for Mars missions 2 to 7 and Venera missions 9 to 16. The same base design was used for some earth-orbiting space observatories.[1]
 Mars-6, a 3MP version of the 4MV bus. | |||
| Manufacturer | NPO Lavochkin | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Soviet Union | ||
| Operator | Soviet Space Program | ||
| Specifications | |||
| Power | 2 Solar arrays (Mars, Venera) 4 Solar arrays (Astron, Granat) | ||
| Production | |||
| Operational | 1971-1989
Engines: | ||
| |||
Design
The spacecraft bus has a height of 2.8 meters (9 ft 2 in) and a solar panel span of 6.7 meters (22 ft). The central section of the bus has a diameter of about one meter (3 ft 3 in) and contained propellant. The main engine (KTDU-425) is encircled by a conical instrument compartment with the diameter of 2.35 meters (7 ft 9 in) at the base.[2] While Mars 2,3 and Kosmos 419 used the KTDU-425, 4MV buses after 1971 used the KTDU-425A).[3]
Variants
- Mars M-71|3MS:Kosmos 419 (M-71|3MS No.170), Mars 2 (M-71 No.171), Mars 3 (M-71 No.172)
- Mars M-73|3MS|3MP: Mars 4 (M-73|3MS No.52S), Mars 5 (M-73|3MS No.53S), Mars 6 (M-73|3MP No.50P), Mars 7 (M-73|3MP No.51P)
- Venera 4V-1: Venera 9 (4V-1 No.660), Venera 10 (4V-1 No.661), Venera 11 (4V-1 No.360), Venera 12 (4V-1 No.361), Venera 13 (4V-1 No.760), Venera 14 (4V-1 No.761)
- Astron: Astron
- Venera 4V-2: Venera 15 (4V-2 No.860), Venera 16 (4V-2 No.861)
- Granat: Granat
See also
References
- "4MV". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023.
- "Venera-9 and 10". www.russianspaceweb.com.
- "KTDU-425". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
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