Short answers, pulled from the story.
Roughly sixty percent of all spacecraft destined for Mars have failed before completing their missions. Some failed before their observations could even begin, contributing to the informal term "Mars Curse" used to describe the pattern of losses.
Mars 3, a Soviet lander, achieved the first soft landing on Mars on the 2nd of December 1971. Its transmission was cut off after just 14.5 seconds. Mars 2 had arrived days earlier but crash-landed, becoming the first human-made object to reach the Martian surface.
The Viking landers carried biological experiments designed to search for signs of life, but their results were inconclusive. A reanalysis of the Viking data published in 2012 suggested signs of microbial life, though no definitive conclusion has been established.
Both rovers operated for years beyond their original specifications. Spirit remained active until 2010, when it became stuck in a sand dune and could no longer recharge its batteries. Opportunity also far exceeded its planned mission duration.
India became the first country to successfully place a spacecraft into Mars orbit on its first attempt. The Indian Space Research Organisation's Mars Orbiter Mission entered Martian orbit on the 24th of September 2014, at a total cost of 71 million dollars.
As of the 19th of October 2021, Perseverance had captured five hours of Martian sound, consisting of wind gusts, rover wheels crunching over gravel, and motors moving the spacecraft's arm. The recordings give researchers information about how far sound travels in the Martian atmosphere.