Only Europe, which operates the Mars Express orbiter, has had beginner's luck on Mars.

MSN: History littered with failed Mars probes

Europe entered the Mars race in 2003 with the Mars Express Orbiter and the Beagle 2 lander.

CNN: What we've done on Mars, and what's next

That clever piece of engineering was a tiny lander that was carried to the Red Planet in 2003 on board the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter.

BBC: Why did the Antarctic drilling project fail?