Since the beginning of the space age, Mars has been a focus of planetary exploration for three main reasons: (1) it is the most Earth-like of the planets; (2) other than Earth, it is the planet most likely to have developed indigenous life; and (3) it will probably be the first extraterrestrial planet to be visited by humans. Only Mars 6 lands. Opportunity is still operational. It discovered traces of organic molecules preserved in rock layers 3.5 billion years old and that the amount of methane in the Martian atmosphere varies with the seasons. The only other country to land a spacecraft on Mars was the Soviet Union in 1971 and 1973. U.S. spacecraft successfully flew by Mars (Mariners 4, 6, and 7), orbited the planet (Mariner 9 and Vikings 1 and 2), and placed lander modules on its surface (Vikings 1 and 2). For four months the rover Sojourner explores the planet's surface and returns photos to Earth. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Three weeks later, on January 24, Opportunity landed in Meridiani Planum (2° S 6° W), on the opposite side of the planet. Here's some background information about Mars exploration. 1) Named after the Roman God of war, Mars is the fourth planet from the sun in our solar system. In 1988 Soviet scientists launched a pair of spacecraft, Phobos 1 and 2, to orbit Mars and make slow flyby observations of its two satellites. The Viking spacecraft. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Within weeks of its arrival, the Mars Express orbiter detected vast fields of water ice as well as carbon dioxide ice at the south pole and confirmed that the southern summer remnant cap, like the northern one, contains permanently frozen water. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. It transmits data for 20 seconds before failing. January 3, 1999 - The Mars Polar Lander is launched. November 3, 1971 - Mariner 9 launches. These included Mars’s gravity and magnetic fields, surface topography, and surface mineralogy. Each of the InSight CubeSats, called Mars Cube One (MarCO), consisted of six such units. Contact is permanently lost in August 1993. April 7, 2001 - The Mars Odyssey Orbiter is launched, and reaches Mars on October 24.

Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Close-up of a pitted volcanic rock resting on the Chryse Planitia lowland of Mars, photographed by the Mars Pathfinder lander's rover, Sojourner, on September 17, 1997. It will scan the planet for more signs of water. Mars 3 was the first spacecraft to soft-land an instrumented capsule on the planet, on December 2, 1971; it landed during a planetwide dust storm and returned data for about 20 seconds.

As interpreted by rover mission scientists, the rock layers apparently were laid down as deposits at the bottom of a body of flowing saltwater, probably on the shoreline of an ancient salty sea.


gases that could mean there's active, biological life on Mars, aims to land at least two cargo ships on the Red Planet in 2022 in order to place power, mining and life support systems there for future flights, NASA launches InSight, the first outer space robotic explorer to study the interior of Mars, NASA announces organic matter has been found on Mars in soil samples, Community reacts to double-homicide investigation in Wolcott, Northern Indiana man shot by police after stabbing son, 10, has died, Barrett confirmed as Supreme Court justice, White County Sheriff releases names and ages of suspects in Wolcott double homicide, Purdue Police reminding students to follow Protect Purdue Pledge after multiple weekend gatherings, Attorney general candidate calls for Indiana to legalize pot, ISDH: Tippecanoe County reports 56 new COVID-19 cases, passes 4,000 total, Haunted Lafayette: Top Notch Bar serves up food and "spirits", ISDH: 51 new COVID-19 cases reported in Tippecanoe County, Indiana Beach provides safe and fun Halloween experience. May 25, 2008 - The Mars Phoenix Lander completes a 296-day, 422-million-mile journey, landing near the planet's north pole. November 26, 2018 - InSight lands on Mars and begins sending signals to NASA minutes later, including a photo of the surface where it landed. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Between 1960 and 1980 the exploration of Mars was a major objective of both the U.S. and Soviet space programs. 1) Named after the Roman God of war, Mars is the fourth planet from the sun in our solar system. ET, Spirit lands on Mars and immediately starts to send back pictures from the surface.

InSight placed a seismometer on the surface that made the first detections of quakes on Mars. It is far larger than Spirit and Opportunity, weighing approximately 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) and about the size of a Mini Cooper car.

August 6, 2012 - Curiosity successfully lands on Mars at 1:32 a.m.

June 7, 2018 - NASA announces organic matter has been found on Mars in soil samples taken from 3 billion-year-old mudstone in the Gale crater by the Curiosity rover. Phoenix carried a small chemical laboratory to study the arctic soil.

February 2, 2004 - For the first time, both Spirit and Opportunity are fully operational. Brr! Join us on an out-of-this-world adventure with our fascinating facts about Mars…. Amid failures of several U.S. spacecraft missions to Mars in the 1990s, Mars Pathfinder successfully set down in Chryse Planitia (19° N, 33° W) on July 4, 1997, and deployed a robotic wheeled rover called Sojourner on the surface. The spacecraft also carried cameras for making both wide-angle and detailed images of the surface at resolutions down to 1.5 metres (5 feet). But… News flash! The TGO mapped the vertical distribution of dust and water vapour in the atmosphere. FactsThere have been eight successful US Mars landings: Viking 1 and Viking 2 (both 1976), Pathfinder (1997), Spirit and Opportunity (both 2004), Phoenix (2008), Curiosity (2012) and InSight (2018).The only … Continue reading "Mars Exploration Fast Facts" July 25, 2018 - Researchers from the Italian Space Agency publish a study indicating that a lake of liquid water has been detected beneath the southern polar ice caps of Mars using the European Space Agency's MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) instrument. Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike! Ready for a night time adventure? Schiaparelli ejected its parachute early and crashed into the surface. It is last heard from on November 2, 2006. November 1996 - The Mars Global Surveyor is launched. August 4, 2007 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is launched successfully. Join the Mars Mission with the new LEGO® City Space range!