4MV

4MV
Mars-6, a 3MP version of the 4MV bus.
ManufacturerNPO Lavochkin
Country of originSoviet Union
OperatorSoviet Space Program
Specifications
Power2 Solar arrays (Mars, Venera)
4 Solar arrays (Astron, Granat)
Production
Operational1971-1989

Engines:

  • 1 KTDU-425 (Mars 2-3)
  • 1 KTDU-425A (Post 1971)
    • Fuel:
  • UDMH/N2O4
    • ← 3MV 5VK →

    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. Different versions of the bus exist, for example 4V-1, 4V-M and 4V-2. The same base design was also used for earth-orbiting space observatories.

    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. While Mars 2,3 and Kosmos 419 used the KTDU-425, 4MV buses after 1971 used the KTDU-425A).

    Astron

    Variants

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 "Venera 9, 10, 11, 12 (4V1 #1, 2, 3, 4)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
    2. 1 2 "Venera 13, 14 (4V1M #1, 2)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
    3. ↑ "4MV". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023.
    4. ↑ "Venera-9 and 10". www.russianspaceweb.com.
    5. ↑ "KTDU-425". www.astronautix.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
    6. ↑ "Mars 2, 3 (Mars M71 #1, #2, #3)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
    7. ↑ "Mars 4, 5 (Mars M73 Orbiter #1, #2)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
    8. ↑ "Mars 6, 7 (Mars M73 Lander #1, #2)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
    9. ↑ "Astron 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
    10. ↑ "Venera 15, 16 (4V2 #1, 2)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
    11. ↑ "Granat (Astron 2)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2023-09-25.