Intro | Mythology & Motivation | Early Missions & Challenges | Mariner & Viking | Global Surveyor & Pathfinder | Exploration Rovers | Future Planned Missions | The Future | Conclusion
| On October 10th, 1960, the Soviets attempted the first Mars exploration fly by with their craft Marsnik 1, as shown on the right. Even though there was a failure at launch, which made the mission unseccesful, the exploration of the red planet has since been of great interest for multiple nations. With different intentions, all the missions have inarguably enriched the scientific society, and are affecting humans in many different aspects. The exploration of Mars will continue to be an invaluable resource to humanity entering the 21st century. Read more. |  |
- Always held mythical status for humans
- Mars imagined in Science Fiction (Borroughs, Heinlein, Asimov, etc.)
- Attractive Target for Exploration
–close proximity
–Earth-like
–Technologically feasible
- Reasons for going to Mars:
–Knowledge
–Resources
–Expansion of human presence
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- Soviet Marsnik 1 & 2 (1960) --> Launch Failures
–Mars probes
–Troubles with rocket thrust
- Soviet Sputnik 22 & 24 (1962) --> Attempted Fly-Bys
–Sputnik 22: destroyed in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) entry.
–Sputnik 24: destroyed on TMI (Trans-Mars Injection) burn.
- US catches up with NACA (later NASA)
- US Mariner Program launched in 1964
- Picture: US final launchs the US Mariner Program
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Last of a series of missions meant to explore Mars
- First American mission to land a spacecraft safely on Mars
The Mariner Mission
- Basic Idea:
–Small spacecraft that were able to do multiple small-scale Mars explorations in a short period of time.
–Two spacecraft were launched simultaneously, in order to have a backup in case one failed.
( This proved helpful, as Mariners 1, 3, and 8 did not make it through the launch )
- The Missions:
–Mariner 4 and 5: Mariner 3 was launched on November 5, 1964, but did not make it through launch due to an encasing failure.
Mariner 4 was launched on November 28, 1964 to take close-up pictures of Mars. These showed lunar crater like features.
–Mariner 6 and 7: Mariner 6 and 7 were launched in 1969 as part of a dual mission to analyze the surface and atmospheric
conditions of Mars as well as catalogue visual data.
–Mariner 9: Mariner 9 was launched in May 1971 to become the first artificial satellite of Mars.
It went into Martian orbit in November 1971, being able to take close-up pictures of Phobos and Deimos, Mars’ two moons.
- What was learned?
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With the Mariner missions, scientist learned:
-About the Martian surface
-About the atmospheres of Mars
-Generalities about the solar system
-That an economic, small scale alternative to space exploration was possible
– This lead to further Martian explorations
** Pictured above starting from the left: Mariner 4 heading to Mars and Mariner 7 **
The Viking Mission
- Quick Summary:
–Launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida
–Both spacecraft were sterilized to avoid contaminating Mars with earthly organisms
–It took both spacecrafts a year to reach Mars.
–The Viking missions were able to continue obtaining Martian data long after the scientists had intended to.
- The Viking Spacecraft - The Viking orbiters closely resembled the Mariner spacecraft, as they were a follow up on Mariner design.
–Viking 1: Launched on August 20, 1975.
Reached mars orbit on June 19, 1976, landing on Martian ground on July 20, 1976, on the western slope of Chryse Planitia.
–Viking 2: Launched on September 9, 1975
Reached mars orbit on August 7, 1976, landing on September 3, 1976, at Utopia Planitia.
- What was learned?
–Scientific findings on the Viking missions included information on seismology, wind velocity, meteorology, biology, Martian soil chemistry, atmospheric pressures, and actual visual records of the Martian terrain.
–The Viking Research Team - The Viking mission was handled by the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
** Pictured above starting from the left: Viking 1 Takes off to Space and Viking space mission orbiter **
- Purpose:
–MGS: Orbit and map Mars
–Pathfinder: Land a rover on Mars and use it to conduct experiments
- Date:
–MGS: November 7 1996
–Pathfinder: December 4 1996 (6:58:07 UTC)
- What was different from the last missions:
–MGS: Act as communication satellite for Mars Exploration Rovers and map all of Mars
–Pathfinder: First mission to land a rover on a planet and prove the benefits of “Faster, Better, and Cheaper” approach
- Results:
–MGS: Total success in acting as communication satellite and mapping Mars before receiving 3 mission extensions.
–Pathfinder: Total success in landing a rover and having the rover perform all desired experiments while maintaining a low total cost of $265 million
- What was learned?
–MGS: Gained map of Mars in addition to discovering the possible presence of water on December 6 2006
–Pathfinder: Low price missions are possible and the technological advances of the rover such as airbag touchdown and automatic obstacle avoidance technology work
** Pictured above starting from the left: Global Surveyor flying closer to Mars and Pathfinder on Mars.
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- Phoenix Lander – August 3, 2007
–Landing at a north high-latitude (1st time)
–Solar-powered Rover with many Science Instruments
–Investigating water frozen near Mars’ surface
- Mars Science Laboratory – Late 2009
–“Walking” science laboratory
–Will gauge biological potential
–Planned time: 1 Martian year (687 Days)
- Near Future: sample return missions
- Picture: Phoenix Lander on Mars
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- Following evolutionary footsteps of our ancestors
- Does other life exist? --> Fundamental Question
- Manned Missions? --> Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
- Mars Direct Plan
–Low cost, feasible manned Mars mission plan
–Long mission time with “live off the land” strategy
- Picture: The future Terraforming Survey Team on Mars
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Our greatest aspiration is to leave the audience with a greater overall knowledge and clearer view of what is going on pertaining to the Mars exploration missions. We hope to cater to all ages and levels of space exploration knowledge. As a hard-working team, we will commit ourselves to present the information in a clear and concise way. The project will explain in detail each mission’s purpose, necessity, preparation and resources involved, mission profile, data gathered, lessons learned, and effect on future objectives. We hope you enjoyed this presentation as we have.
Project Resources
In order to facilitate the collection of useful information, websites, technical papers, periodicals, and e-journals will be utilized. These include:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ - Gateway NASA site to a plethora of other resources.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chronology_mars.html - An extremely detailed chronology of Mars exploration from 1960 to the present and into the future. Each mission links to detailed information about that mission.
http://athena.cornell.edu/ - University website with journal archives and traverse maps for the Spirit and Opportunity Mars exploration rovers, among other information and links.
http://cmex.ihmc.us/ - CMEX (Center for Mars Exploration) website, with individual mission information, as well as “Concept Maps” (flowcharts, or “Mind Maps”) of a variety of topics, including: exploring Mars, geologic processes, climate, history of water, search for evidence of life, candidate landing sites, robotic missions, orbiters, landers, rovers, sample returns, human missions, technology, and more.
http://www.marsdrive.com/ - International non-profit space foundation with worldwide membership. Advocates future space, in particular Mars, exploration.
http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/ - MEPAG (Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group) website. Chartered by NASA to assist in planning the scientific exploration of Mars. Various analysis reports, conference reports, advanced mission studies, and useful links.
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4212/contents.html - Full text of the book On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet. 1958-1978 from NASA’s history office. Extensive information is contained on the Voyager and Viking missions as well as primary motivations for exploring Mars.
Even though these credible, information-rich resources can be found by running a simple search on the Mars rover exploration subject, numerous other websites and information sources from NASA, JPL, and other reputable sources will be accessed if additional information is needed. This selection of resources clearly shows that enough information is available for Team RacecaR maeT to write a well-informed, comprehensive research report.
Other Pictures of Mars
Starting from the left: Victoria Crater on Mars, The Big Crater, Gusev Crater, and Earth compared to Mars.
