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Phoenix Mars Mission
Cosponsored by The Planetary Society
Launched in August 2007, the Phoenix Mars Mission is the first to take flight in NASA’s Scout Program. Now, almost 10 months later, the Phoenix Mars Lander will land on Mars, to study the history of water and search for organic molecules. The Phoenix Mars Lander will be heading directly to the ice-rich soil found in the arctic regions of Mars and begin drilling.
The Phoenix Mars Lander takes its name from an ancient Greek myth about a bird from Arabia that lives for 500 years. As it approaches death, it bursts into flames and a new phoenix rises from the ashes. Just as a new bird rises from the ashes of the old one, the Phoenix Mars Lander has been built from instruments of two previously unsuccessful missions to Mars, the Mars Polar Lander and the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander.
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History of Mars Exploration
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The View From Earth: Exploring Mars with our eyes and telescopes
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400 BC
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The first recorded observations of Mars were by the Babylonians, who called it Nergal.
Egyptians were the first to notice that five bright objects (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) seemed to move relative to the “fixed” stars.
From that point onwards, astronomers began making detailed observations of Mars and the other planets. Eventually, they were able to predict its motion both prograde and retrograde.
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1500s
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Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601), a Danish astronomer, began making detailed observations and calculations about the position of Mars.
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1609
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Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630), Brahe’s student, proved that the orbit of Mars was elliptical, not circular.
Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) began observing Mars with a telescope. Galileo was the first person to use telescopes for astronomical purposes.
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1659
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Christiaan Huygens (1629 – 1695) drew the first map of Mars.
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1666
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Giovanni Cassini (1625 – 1712) calculates Mars’ rotational period to be 24 hours and 40 minutes.
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1672
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Huygens first notices a white spot on the southern pole, probably the polar cap.
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1698
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After Huygens’ death, Cosmotheros is published. In Cosmotheros, Huygens discussed the requirements needed for life to exist on other planets.
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1777-1783
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Sir William Herschel (1738 – 1822) studied Mars with telescopes he built himself. Herschel believed the intelligent beings lived on all of the planets and the sun.
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1784
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Herschel believed that the dark areas on Mars were seas or oceans and the lighter areas were land.
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1858
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Angelo Secchi (1818 – 1878), a Jesuit monk, describes features on Mars that he called “canali.”
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1877
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Giovanni Schiaparelli (1835 – 1910), maps the features of Mars and uses the term “canali” again to describe features he saw on the surface. Although this translates to channels, not canals, the idea stuck and people began to believe that intelligent life must exist on Mars.
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1877
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Asaph Hall discovers the moons of Mars and calls them Phobos (fear) and Deimos (fright) after the horses of Ares.
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1894
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Percival Lowell (1855 – 1916) argues that the canals must have been created by a Martian civilization.
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Traveling to Mars: Flybys, Orbiters, and Landers
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1960s
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Soviet Union: Marsnik 1 & 2, Sputnik 22 & 24, Mars 1, Zond 2 & 3, Mars 1969A & 1969B
USA: Mariner 3, 4, 6 & 7
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1970s
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Soviet Union: Mars 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7, Kosmos 419,
USA: Mariner 8 & 9, Viking 1 & 2
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1980s
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Soviet Union: Phobos 1 & 2
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1990s
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Russia: Mars 96
USA: Mars Observer, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Climate Orbiter, Deep Space 2 Probes, Mars Polar Lander
Japan: Nazomi
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2000s
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USA: Mars Odyssey, Mars Surveyor, MER Opportunity, MER Spirit, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Phoenix Mars Lander, Mars Science Laboratory (planned)
ESA: Mars Express Orbiter/Beagle 2 Lander
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