Proton-K/D-2 | Mars-96
The Mars 96 spacecraft was launched into Earth orbit, but failed to achieve insertion into Mars cruise trajectory and re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere at about 00:45 to 01:30 UT on 17 November 1996 and crashed within a presumed 320 km by 80 km area which includes parts of the Pacific Ocean, Chile, and Bolivia. The cause of the crash is not known.
The Proton-K was a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
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Mission Profile
Mars-96 was a Proton-K/D-2 mission operated by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center that lifted off from 200/39 (200L), Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan on November 16, 1996. The flight carried its payload on a robotic exploration mission to Heliocentric N/A. The launch was a success.