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Mars: The red planet Date published: 12/6/2007
THE RED PLANET has long been the object of intense mystery. Mars captivated our imaginations as astronomers turned their telescopes toward the planet and envisioned a world not unlike our own. But was it inhabited by aliens poised to invade Earth? Those blurry visions were cleared up when the first spacecraft sent to the planet in the 1960s revealed no signs of Martians, liquid water or vegetation. Although disappointing, those findings have not kept us from digging into Mars' past and the secrets it may hold. Mars is a strange kind of place. It possesses the largest volcanic mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons, and a canyon system named Mariner Valley that dwarfs Earth's Grand Canyon. If Mariner Valley were on Earth, it would extend almost from one coast of the United States to the other. That's hard to imagine since Mars is about half the size of our own Earth. Successful landings on Mars have been difficult to achieve, but there have been successes with the Viking 1 and 2 spacecraft in 1976, the Mars Pathfinder in 1997, and the twin Mars Exploration Rovers named Spirit and Opportunity in 2004. Spirit and Opportunity continue to operate and roam the Red Planet almost four years later and have found evidence that Mars once had a great deal of water flowing on its surface. What happened to the water is a mystery, but the prospect of ancient Martian life comes to mind. That's where the Phoenix Mars Mission comes in. The northern polar region of Mars will become the subject of intense study by this unmanned robotic spacecraft when it lands on Mars in May 2008. Phoenix will dig into the Martian soil and analyze its chemistry to determine if life could have ever existed in Mars' past. Phoenix also comes equipped with an onboard weather station to measure the Martian weather. Regardless of what Phoenix uncovers on Mars, NASA is planning future missions that are even more ambitious. One of these missions could bring samples of Martian rocks and soil to Earth for detailed physical and chemical analysis.
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