wonderful universe
Capturing the Red Planet
Landers & rovers have brought us closer to Mars
By MARCELO DE OLIVEIRA SOUZA
Sky ’ s Up Editor
The exploration of Mars is one of humanity ’ s greatest dreams . The first spacecraft that successfully entered Mars orbit was the American spacecraft Mariner 4 on July 14 , 1965 . It was the first time a spacecraft sent images of Mars back to Earth . From 1960 to 1973 the Soviet Union launched 15 missions to Mars . Of that total , only 5 missions , Mars 2 and Mars 3 in 1971 and Mars 5 , 6 and 7 in 1973 , successfully entered Mars orbit . The missions Mars 2 and Mars 3 were composed of an orbiter , a lander , and a rover . On November 27th , 1971 , happened the first impact of a lander on Mars surface , during a Mars 2 mission failed attempt . On December 2nd , 1971 , happened the first landing of a lander developed by humans on Mars . The lander of the Mars 3 mission had a soft landing and sent a partial image back to Earth but
COURTESY OF NASA / JPL
This color picture of Mars was taken July 21 , 1976 , — the day following Viking l ’ s successful landing on the planet . The local time on Mars is approximately noon . The view is southeast from the Viking . Orange-red surface materials cover most of the surface , apparently forming a thin veneer over darker bedrock exposed in patches , as in the lower right . The reddish surface materials may be limonite ( hydrated ferric oxide ). Such weathering products form on Earth in the presence of water and an oxidizing atmosphere . The sky has a reddish cast , probably due to scattering and reflection from reddish sediment suspended in the lower atmosphere .
Viking Lander 2 Camera 2 FROST ( Low Resolution Color ) Sol 1028 , 1030 and 1050 between 11:34 and 12 : 14
COURTESY OF NASA