The spacecraft was intended to survey Mars but lost communication before arrival.

Zond-2 carried a phototelevision camera of the same type later used to photograph the Moon on Zond 3.

Zond 2 also carried six Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPT) that served as actuators of the attitude control system.

The PPT propulsion system was tested for 70 minutes on the 14 December 1964 when the spacecraft was 4.2 million kilometers from Earth.

Running on half power due to the loss of one of its solar panels, the spacecraft flew by Mars on August 6, 1965 at 5.62 kilometres per second (3.49 mi/s), 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) away from the planet.