With valuable information gathered on Mars since the 1960s, NASA continues to build a strong future for pushing the boundaries of exploration beyond Earth. In the near future, humans will travel to Mars.
NASA’s first mission to Mars was Mariner 4. What did this spacecraft, which gave us the first close-up images of any other planet, teach us? Mariner 4 showed us impact craters on the surface as it performed the first flyby of Mars. Some of the craters had frost on them during the Martian evening. Over twenty photos were taken. Designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), this spacecraft was launched in 1964.
Mariner 4’s first image. Image Credit: NASA
Mariner 6 and 7 were the next successful NASA spacecraft to travel to Mars. Launching in 1969, these two were part of a dual Mars mission. They flew over both the equator and south polar regions, and studied the atmosphere in addition to taking hundreds of pictures.
Mariner 9 launched in 1971 and would become the first artificial satellite of Mars as it began orbiting the planet. When it arrived, the spacecraft saw that the entire planet was hidden in a month-long dust storm. Images taken after the storm showed the surface of Mars to have huge volcanoes, a grand canyon, and ancient riverbeds. Additionally, Mariner 9 gave us the first up-close images of Mars’ moons.
What were the first spacecraft to land on Mars? NASA’s Viking 1 and Viking 2 landed in 1976, a little less than two months apart. Each Viking had its own orbiter and lander. The project returned images, data about the atmosphere and soil experiments that included looking for possible signs of life.
Mars Global Surveyor arrived at the red planet in 1997 and orbited Mars for just over nine years. The mission brought us images that carried evidence that water sometimes flows on the planet’s surface.
Mars Pathfinder launched in 1996 with a lander and rover. The mission explored Ares Vallis, an ancient flood plain on Mars. The Mars Odyssey orbiter has returned 130,000+ images and continues to send information to Earth about the mineralogy, climate, and geology of Mars. The Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have operated for many times their original warranty period and has found evidence that Mars was intermittently wet!
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) launched in 2005. It studies the climate of Mars, seasonal and interannual climate change, layered terrain, water-related landforms, and more. It’s also finding promising sites for science and sample return missions in the future. The Phoenix lander arrived in 2008 and worked toward determining if there was ever life on Mars, studied the climate and geology, and helped prepare for future human exploration.
Mars Science Laboratory, with its Curiosity rover, launched in 2011 to explore the habitability of Mars. The mission has the largest instrument suite of any spacecraft ever sent for Mars. The rover studies whether or not the red planet was ever able to support microbes.
Curiosity self portrait. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) began studying Mars after entering the planet’s orbit in 2014. It studies the red planet’s upper atmosphere, what processes are involved and atmospheric loss.
With a strong past and present of Mars exploration, what does the future hold?
Mars InSight will launch in 2018 and will study the deep interior of Mars. The Mars 2020 rover will look for signs of past microbial life and gather knowledge that will be useful for human exploration of Mars in the future.
Data from successful missions has often far surpassed original objectives, and NASA has continued to build a legacy of missions that provide essential reconaissance for future deep space exploration.
Learn more about the Journey to Mars at NASA.gov.