Mars 5 was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/24.

[3] The launch occurred at 18:55:48 UTC on 25 July 1973, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and upper stage into a low Earth parking orbit before the Blok D fired to propel Mars 5 into heliocentric orbit bound for Mars.

At 14:44:25 the spacecraft's engines ignited to begin its orbit insertion burn, which successfully placed it into an Areocentric orbit with a periapsis of 1,760 kilometres (1,090 mi), an apoapsis of 32,586 kilometres (20,248 mi), and 35.3 degrees inclination.

It ceased operations on 28 February, having returned 180 photographic frames, 43 of which were of usable quality.

[8] It found an ozone layer at an altitude of 30 kilometres (19 mi) and observed clouds.