Mars regained the world’s attention this fall, with recent news of the discovery of liquid water on the planet and a new blockbuster film set on Earth’s nearest neighbor, The Martian. This is a timely moment to focus on Red Planet Day, November 28.
Celebrate the fourth planet from our solar system’s sun with our series of blogs discussing general information about Mars, some of the more than 40 space missions humans have launched to study the planet, a section on the future of Mars and plans for manned missions to the planet, and concluding with links to fiction and non-fiction on Mars.
From Mars Hill near Flagstaff, the location of the main facility of Lowell Observatory where Pluto was discovered, to the Lunar Planetary Laboratory (LPL) at the University of Arizona in Tucson and Kitt Peak, which houses a massive collection of diverse astronomical instruments, our state has a long storied history in astronomy and with the Red Planet. UA’s LPL has been involved with the Mars Odyssey Orbiter, Phoenix Mars Lander, Mars Polar Lander, Mars Observer, Viking, HiRISE and Mars Reconnaissance Observer, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Express, Mars Pathfinder, Beagle 2, Mars Exploration Rovers, and MAVEN missions to our crimson neighbor among many other lunar, planetary, and solar missions to study our solar system and the galaxies beyond.
In this pioneering, exploratory spirit, La Paloma Academy, your Tucson charter school, has paired with the other campuses in our district to put together a retrospective on 50 years of successful exploration on Mars for you to enjoy with your child and commemorate Red Planet Day. You can also enjoy the word search created especially for this topic.
Planetary Exploration in the New Millennium
Each early mission brings up more and more questions about Mars, which inspires scientists to develop new and better ways to answer those questions.
Europe’s First Trip to Mars
In 2003, The Mars Express became the first spacecraft sent to Mars by the European Space Agency (ESA). While its lander, Beagle 2, was lost after entry, the orbiter is still collecting and transmitting data twelve years later. Around the same time, NASA launched the Mars Exploration Rovers A & B, which reached the planet, successfully completed and exceeded their primary missions.
MRO
As part of the “Follow the Water” strategy, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) reached orbit around Mars in 2006. It proved the aerobraking technique (using friction in the atmosphere to slow the space craft down, which cut the need for about 600 pounds of fuel) could be successful in the Martian atmosphere and allowed the satellite to settle into its operational orbit. With a payload of cameras, spectrometers, and radars to gather data, it also carried powerful communications equipment to the Red Planet and serves as a downlink for other probes at Mars. This is the orbiter which carries the HiRISE camera which was instrumental in the recent discovery of liquid water on modern day Mars.
Phoenix
The Mars Scout Program, an initiative to send smaller, lower-cost crafts to Mars, produced the Phoenix Lander (with close ties to the University of Arizona). It landed on Mars in spring of 2008 to study the polar region of the planet—the same mission of the unsuccessful Mars Polar Lander launched more than a decade earlier. Phoenix analyzed polar soil in an effort to help scientists understand the geologic history and biological potential of the polar region. With the approach of winter, the solar-powered lander fell out of contact, as expected. Like many of its predecessors, Phoenix outlasted its mission and design life while confirming the existence of underground water ice, observing falling snow, and discovering evidence with implications of life. It coordinated with the MRO for simultaneous observations of weather on the surface and from orbit.
MAVEN
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter entered its orbit around Mars in September of 2014. Another of the Mars Scout Program missions, this orbiter focuses on the atmosphere of Mars and unravelling the history of its climate. MAVEN is part of NASA’s and scientists’ goals which move along a continuum of themes:
Follow the Water → Habitable Environments → Seeking Signs of Life → Future
This contributes to the four Mars science goals:
- Determining if life ever arose on Mars
- Understanding the climate processes and history of Mars
- Ascertaining how the surface and interior of Mars evolved
- Preparing for human exploration in the future
