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Description
This one’s definitely not a boat - she’s a space probe! Meet Mars-3, the first craft to make a successful landing on Mars (although she stopped transmitting information shortly thereafter). Specifically, she’s the lander; the orbiter, meanwhile, forms the basis for her backpack.

Here are her design notes:
-I primarily based her colors off this image as well as some existing replicas of the lander. Her Russian Wikipedia page also features a replica of the orbiter in which the colors are depicted as being the light beige tones that seem so typical of Soviet aesthetics , and some other replicas and models also seem to be warmer in tone, but since I don’t know how accurate those are or what effect the lighting in the pictures might be having, I went with the colors used in the drawing, albeit more gray than brown. Besides, the cooler tones look way better with the solar panels!
-See that collar around her neck with the petal-like things sticking out? Those are based on the lander’s actual “petals,” which served as shields as well as a mechanism to right the craft upon landing. Here, they’re used only as shields; Mars-3 just has to pull a lever to adjust their position, and they shield her face and neck when they’re fully raised.
-Her hat is based on the cone-shaped structure on top of the orbiter. As far as I can tell, this cone functioned as a giant air brake, slowing the craft’s descent to Mars. It was presumably pretty heat-resistant too, so here Mars-3 can use it as a helmet-slash-heat shield in a pinch - all she needs to do is lower her head! Between the hat and the petals, her head is pretty well-protected.
-The control panel on the front strap of her backpack is responsible for moving or activating various parts of the pack (I’ve described that in detail here ). The text is upside-down from our perspective, as it’s arranged so she can see it easily. A bundle of wires is visible coming out of the right side (our left), connecting the control panel to the backpack proper.
-The backpack itself features solar panels, a parachute, rockets that enable her to fly short distances or slow her fall (the latter function is useful when she’s too low for the parachute to do anything), a non-functional satellite dish, and a compartment where she keeps her science gear.
-I made her hair cool gray to match the rest of her color scheme. This post shows what her hairstyle looks like under the hat!
-Her outfit is based on late 60s-early 70s Soviet fashion.
-I gave her a mix between Russian and Kazakh facial features, as she was launched from Kazakhstan. My original plan for her involved darker skin for a more specifically Kazakh look, but it didn’t look quite right so I went with pale skin instead, which makes her look more Russian. You can see the Kazakh influences in her cheekbones, nose, and eye shape!
-This drawing features the only image Mars-3 transmitted after landing overlaid over the top of the background!
-The title for this one comes from Rocket Man by Elton John! My dad was playing that on his guitar the other day, which made me think “hey maybe I should draw Mars-3, I’ve had an idea for her in my head for a while now” lol

For Mars-3’s profile (and an image of her not covered in dust), go here .

For more information on this historic spacefarer, see the following:
Mars 3 Lander
50 years ago, a forgotten mission landed on Mars
Chronology of Mars Exploration

Description
This one’s definitely not a boat - she’s a space probe! Meet Mars-3, the first craft to make a successful landing on Mars (although she stopped transmitting information shortly thereafter). Specifically, she’s the lander; the orbiter, meanwhile, forms the basis for her backpack.

Here are her design notes:
-I primarily based her colors off this image as well as some existing replicas of the lander. Her Russian Wikipedia page also features a replica of the orbiter in which the colors are depicted as being the light beige tones that seem so typical of Soviet aesthetics , and some other replicas and models also seem to be warmer in tone, but since I don’t know how accurate those are or what effect the lighting in the pictures might be having, I went with the colors used in the drawing, albeit more gray than brown. Besides, the cooler tones look way better with the solar panels!
-See that collar around her neck with the petal-like things sticking out? Those are based on the lander’s actual “petals,” which served as shields as well as a mechanism to right the craft upon landing. Here, they’re used only as shields; Mars-3 just has to pull a lever to adjust their position, and they shield her face and neck when they’re fully raised.
-Her hat is based on the cone-shaped structure on top of the orbiter. As far as I can tell, this cone functioned as a giant air brake, slowing the craft’s descent to Mars. It was presumably pretty heat-resistant too, so here Mars-3 can use it as a helmet-slash-heat shield in a pinch - all she needs to do is lower her head! Between the hat and the petals, her head is pretty well-protected.
-The control panel on the front strap of her backpack is responsible for moving or activating various parts of the pack (I’ve described that in detail here ). The text is upside-down from our perspective, as it’s arranged so she can see it easily. A bundle of wires is visible coming out of the right side (our left), connecting the control panel to the backpack proper.
-The backpack itself features solar panels, a parachute, rockets that enable her to fly short distances or slow her fall (the latter function is useful when she’s too low for the parachute to do anything), a non-functional satellite dish, and a compartment where she keeps her science gear.
-I made her hair cool gray to match the rest of her color scheme. This post shows what her hairstyle looks like under the hat!
-Her outfit is based on late 60s-early 70s Soviet fashion.
-I gave her a mix between Russian and Kazakh facial features, as she was launched from Kazakhstan. My original plan for her involved darker skin for a more specifically Kazakh look, but it didn’t look quite right so I went with pale skin instead, which makes her look more Russian. You can see the Kazakh influences in her cheekbones, nose, and eye shape!
-This drawing features the only image Mars-3 transmitted after landing overlaid over the top of the background!
-The title for this one comes from Rocket Man by Elton John! My dad was playing that on his guitar the other day, which made me think “hey maybe I should draw Mars-3, I’ve had an idea for her in my head for a while now” lol

For Mars-3’s profile (and an image of her not covered in dust), go here .

For more information on this historic spacefarer, see the following:
Mars 3 Lander
50 years ago, a forgotten mission landed on Mars
Chronology of Mars Exploration