Planet MARS

Mars has been known since antiquity because of its

red colour and its wandering path relative to the fixed

positions of the stars:

From TELESCOPES to ORBITERS to LANDERS and ROVERS

The scientific exploration of Mars began after telescopes were invented in the early 17th century.

After that, ground telescopes continued to be the tool for studying Mars.

This did not change until 1965 when the first spacecraft flew past Mars and obtained the first close-up images of Mars.

Information now comes from space telescopes, orbiters circling Mars, landers fixed on the surface and rovers that travel around.

• arrived 10 March 2006

• orbits at about 280km

• maps surface features

• observes seasonal changes

• records global dust storms

• landed 25 January 2004

• solar-powered 6-wheeler

• driven more than 45 km

• identifies minerals

• analyses rocks and soil

• has a rock abrasion tool

• landed 25 May 2008

• located near North pole

• carried a gas analyser

• had a mini weather station

• dug using its robotic arm

• analysed soil chemistry

• verified water ice present

DATE	'FIRSTS' in the EXPLORATION of MARS
1659	Using a telescope, HUYGENS saw a large dark area on Mars. By noting when it disappeared and later re-appeared, Huygens realised that Mars completed one rotation in about 24 hours and so identified its PERIOD of ROTATION (Martian day or 'sol').
1784	HERSCHEL was the first to identify that Mars rotated around an axis that was tilted from the vertical. He calculated this AXIAL INCLINATION to be about 28º.
1965	In July 1965, MARINER 4 became the first spacecraft to fly past Mars. In this fly-by, Mariner 4 obtained the first close-up images of Mars.
1971	In November 1971, MARINER 9 became the first spacecraft to enter into orbit around Mars.
1976	In July 1976, VIKING 1 became the first lander to settle successfully on Mars where it operated until November 1982.
1997	In July 1997, SOJOURNER became the first rover to travel on Mars. It was tiny, only 11 kg, compared with later rovers - Opportunity:180 kg; Curiosity:900 kg.