Russia Mars Orbiter/Lander . The Mars 96 mission was launched on November 16, 1996. ... Mars 96 consisted of an orbiter, two soft landers, and two surface penetrators that were to be used to study the Red Planet. The orbiter include: 12 instruments; seven plasma measuring instruments; and three astrophysics instruments. ... The spacecraft was to create a high-resolution map of the surface and conduct measurements that would identify mineral deposits, surface composition, and crust structure. ...