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In the past few decades, the Russian and American space agencies have sent many spacecraft to Mars. Some have been a great success while others didn't even make it into space! In 1998, Japan also joined in Mars exploration with the Nozomi spacecraft. Mariner 4 was the first mission to make it successfully to Mars. It arrived on July 14, 1965. The Mariner 4, 6, 7, & 9 missions had great success in returning images of the Red Planet and its moons, Phobos and Deimos. Between 1971-1973, the USSR sent Mars 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 to Mars. With varying success, these orbiters and landers sent back data on the Martian atmosphere, surface, gravity, magnetosphere and temperature. In the mid 70's, the Viking missions were very successful. In all, the Viking 1 & 2 Landers returned over 1,400 images of the Martian surface! And the Viking 1 and 2 Orbiters returned 55,000 images showing surface details as small as 10 m! After a quiet decade, Mars exploration took off again with the Mars Observer mission launched in 1992. Unfortunately, this spacecraft was lost due to explosion! NASA built upon this experience and created the successful Mars Surveyor Program which included the well-loved Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor missions. The new millennium has brought a new phase of Mars exploration. On April 7, 2001, the 2001 Mars Odyssey was launched. Odyssey went into orbit around Mars in October 2001, and has been mapping the planet and collecting data on the chemical and mineral composition of the Martian surface and searching for evidence of water. It is also providing vital information about potential radiation hazards for future human explorers. The European Space Agency's Mars Express mission, including the Beagle 2 lander, arrived at Mars in December 2003. NASA launched twin Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) in June and July of 2003; they landed on the Red Planet in January 2004. The two MER robots have lasted far longer than their initial intended 90-day lifetimes. As of May 2008, both were still functioning and collecting data, after more than four years on Mars. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was launched in August 2005 and went into orbit around Mars in March 2006. It is mapping the Red Planet at very high resolution, partly to help with the selection of landing sites for other future missions. The Phoenix Mars Lander, launched in August 2007, is slated to touch down near the North Pole of Mars in May 2008. Phoenix will use a robotic arm to dig up samples of Martian soil, which it will analyze in miniature laboratories it carries. A major goal of the Phoenix mission is to find water ice that scientists believe is just below the surface, based on data collected by the 2001 Odyssey spacecraft. What of the future? NASA's Mars Science Laboratory is a large, sophisticated rover that is slated for launch in the fall of 2009. Beyond that, plans for other missions are still being formulated. We may send airplanes or balloons to roam the Martian skies, or a drilling rig to search for water and possible signs of life deep underground. Scientists also hope a sample return mission might some day bring Mars rocks back to Earth for analysis in more sophisticated laboratories than can be carried aboard spacecraft. |
Mars Global Surveyor Image Archive
Since 1960, the Russian and American space agencies have sent many spacecraft to Mars. Some have been a great success while others didn't even make it into space! Mariner 4 was the first mission to make it successfully to Mars. It arrived in 1965. The Mariner 4, 6, 7, & 9 missions took tons of pictures of the Red Planet and its moons. Between 1971-1973, the USSR sent Mars 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 to Mars. With varying success, these orbiters and landers sent back data about the Martian atmosphere, surface, gravity, and temperature. In the mid 70's, the Viking missions were very successful. In all, these orbiters and landers returned over 56,400 images of the Martian surface! After a quiet decade, Mars exploration took off again with the Mars Observer mission launched in 1992. Unfortunately, this spacecraft was lost due to explosion! NASA built upon this experience and created the successful Mars Surveyor Program which included the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor missions. In 1998, Japan also joined in Mars exploration with the Nozomi spacecraft. On April 7, 2001, the 2001 Mars Odyssey was launched. The 2001 Odyssey has been collecting data on what chemicals and minerals make up the Martian surface. It is also providing information about possible radiation hazards for future human explorers. The European Space Agency's Mars Express mission, including the Beagle 2 lander, arrived at Mars in December 2003. NASA launched twin Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) in June and July of 2003. They landed on the Red Planet in January 2004. Although they were only supposed to keep working for 90 days on the Martian surface, both are still going strong four years later! NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) was launched in August 2005 and went into orbit around Mars in March 2006. It is making very detailed maps of the Red Planet. Those maps will help scientists select landing sites for other future missions. The Phoenix Mars Lander was launched in August 2007. It will land near the North Pole of Mars in May 2008. Phoenix will use a robotic arm to dig up samples of Martian soil. Scientists hope Phoenix will find water ice just below the surface. What about future missions? Another rover, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, is supposed to blast off in the fall of 2009. That rover will be even bigger than the Mars Exploration Rovers that have done such a great job. We don't know yet what missions to Mars will come after that. We may send airplanes or balloons to roam the Martian skies. We might send a drilling rig to search for water and maybe signs of life underground. Scientists also hope a there will be sample return mission some day. It would bring Mars rocks back to Earth so scientists could study them in laboratories on Earth. |
Mars Global Surveyor Image Archive
Russia and the United States have been sending spacecraft to Mars since 1960! Some of the coolest missions were Mariner 4, 6, 7, & 9, Mars 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6, the Viking missions, and the Mars Global Surveyor mission. You may remember the Mars Pathfinder lander and rover that landed on Mars in 1997. The rover bumped into rocks named Scooby Doo, Shark, Pooh Bear and Chimp! In April 2001, the 2001 Mars Odyssey was launched. It got to Mars in October 2001. The European Space Agency sent the Mars Express mission to the Red Planet. It reached Mars on Christmas day in 2003. Mars Express also had a small lander called the Beagle 2. NASA launched two Mars Exploration Rovers in June and July of 2003. They have been driving around on Mars since January 2004. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is another satellite that is mapping Mars from orbit. It was launched in August 2005 and made it to Mars in March 2006. The Phoenix Mars Lander was launched in August 2007. It will land near the North Pole of Mars in May 2008. Phoenix will use a robotic arm to dig up samples of Martian soil. Scientists hope Phoenix will find water ice just below the surface. What about the future? NASA is sending another, bigger rover to Mars in 2009. It is called the Mars Science Laboratory. Some day we may send airplanes or balloons to roam the Martian skies. We might send a drilling rig to search for water and maybe signs of life underground. Scientists also hope a there will be sample return mission some day. It would bring Mars rocks back to our planet so scientists could study them in laboratories on Earth. |
Mars Global Surveyor Image Archive
