It will continue to search for life and gather data that will help future astronauts survive on Mars. The Mars 2020 Rover is scheduled for launch two years later. In 2018, NASA plans to launch its InSight lander mission to explore under the surface of Mars to learn how rocky planets, like Earth, are formed and changed over time. There are also several inactive landers and rovers from past Mars missions still on the planet's surface. The rovers, called Opportunity and Curiosity, are investigating Martian geology, looking for liquid water, and searching for signs of life in soil and rocks (See Figure 2). Right now, NASA has three orbiters studying Mars from space and two rovers on the planet's surface. Then, orbiters were sent to study Mars from a stable orbit (like a satellite), and eventually landers reached the Martian surface (See Figure 1). The earliest missions sent spacecraft on a planetary "fly-by". Since the 1960s, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States) has launched many successful robotic missions to Mars. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech Amazing Robotic Missions The whole Valles Marineris canyon system is visible (2000 kilometres long and up to 8 kilometres deep). This image is a mosaic of 102 separate pictures, taken 2500 kilometres above the surface of Mars, by the Viking Orbiter. This data will help scientists figure out if Mars was habitable in the past, and if it can be habitable for humans in the future.įigure 1: Mars from Viking Orbiter. Learning more about the Martian climate and geology, and how they have changed over time, are additional goals of Mars missions. Even if life is never found outside Earth, exploring other planets satisfies human curiosity about our place in space. It is exciting to wonder if Martian microbes could still be living in protected areas. Scientists believe that Martian life was probably microbes, like bacteria. Finding signs of past life is a big goal of missions to Mars. This makes Mars the most likely planet in our solar system, other than Earth, to have supported the evolution of life. But Mars has many features that are similar to Earth, such as polar ice caps, seasons, clouds, and a rocky surface with canyons and mountains (see Earth and Mars: Comparison of Planetary Neighbours Backgrounder).īillions of years ago, Mars may have been more like Earth, with warmer temperatures and abundant liquid water. Mars is a cold, dry planet with a suffocating atmosphere containing 96% carbon dioxide and almost no oxygen. The next big step is a human mission to Mars. We have learned a lot about the conditions on Mars by using powerful telescopes, sending robotic orbiters to study the planet from space, and placing landers and robotic rovers on the Martian surface. Mars is visible in the night sky without the help of a telescope, so it has fascinated people for thousands of years. Above Image: The face of the planet Mars © Public Domain Destination Mars: Journey to Another Planet
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |