Mars:
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the Solar System. Named after the Roman god of war, it is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth.
Significant Dates
- 1877: Asaph Hall discovers the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos.
- 1965: NASA's Mariner 4 sends back 22 photos of Mars, the world's first close-up photos of a planet beyond Earth.
- 1976: Viking 1 and 2 land on the surface of Mars.
- 1997: Mars Pathfinder lands and dispatches Sojourner, the first wheeled rover to explore the surface of another planet.
- 2002: Mars Odyssey begins its mission to make global observations and find buried water ice on Mars.
- 2004: Twin Mars Exploration Rovers named Spirit and Opportunity land on Mars and find the strongest evidence yet obtained that the Red Planet once had underground liquid water and water flowing on the surface.
- 2006: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter begins returning high-resolution images as it studies the history of water on Mars.
- 2008: Phoenix lands on Mars to study the history of water and search for complex organic molecules; confirms the presence of water ice near the north pole.
- 2012 Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover lands on Mars to study whether the Red Planet ever was -- or is still today -- an environment suitable for life.
8-23-2015
2012: "Curiosity" rover lands on Mars
The $2.5 billion mission saw the one-ton, six-wheeled, nuclear-powered vehicle blaze through the pink Martian sky and touch down inside an ancient crater.
After a journey that had lasted eight months, and covered 352 million miles of space.
it slowed down with the help of a giant supersonic parachute. A hovering, jet-powered "sky crane," then descended towards the surface, lowering Curiosity to the ground on three 25ft nylon tethers.
It landed upright on all six wheels and the sky crane cut the cords before powering away and crashing at a safe distance.
After a journey that had lasted eight months, and covered 352 million miles of space.
it slowed down with the help of a giant supersonic parachute. A hovering, jet-powered "sky crane," then descended towards the surface, lowering Curiosity to the ground on three 25ft nylon tethers.
It landed upright on all six wheels and the sky crane cut the cords before powering away and crashing at a safe distance.