Mars

Here is a link to a google page about mars! [] Welcome to my Mars page. Mars is our next door neighbor in the slar system. Mars is named after Roman God of War. Mars has a big history of exploration. Robotic spacecraft began detailed observation of Mars in the 1960's. The United States launched Mariner 4 to Mars in 1964 and Mariners 6 and 7 in 1969. Each flew by Mars about half a year after its launch. The craft took pictures showing that Mars is a barren world, with craters like those on the moon. There was no sign of liquid water or life. The spacecraft observed few of the planet's most interesting features because they happened to fly by only heavily cratered regions. In 1971, Mariner 9 went into orbit around Mars. This craft mapped about 80 percent of Mars. It made the first discoveries of the planet's canyons and volcanoes. It also found what appear to be dry riverbeds. The next major mission to Mars was Viking, launched by the United States in 1975. Viking consisted of two orbiters and two landers. Its main goal was to search for life. The orbiters scouted out landing sites for the landers, which touched down in July and September 1976. The landers took the first close-up pictures of the Martian surface, and they sampled the soil. They found no strong evidence for life. The next two successful probes were Mars Pathfinder, which was a lander, and Mars Global Surveyor, an orbiter. The United States launched both craft in 1996. The main objective of Pathfinder was to demonstrate a new landing system. Inflated air bags cushioned the probe's landing in July 1997. Pathfinder also carried a small roving vehicle called Sojourner(named after the famous slave Sojourner Truth). The rover rolled down a ramp to the surface, and then moved from rock to rock. Pathfinder sent spectacular photos back to Earth, and Sojourner analyzed rocks and soil. People throughout the world watched television pictures of Sojourner doing its work.
 * [[image:http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/103977main_mars8.jpg width="200" height="133" caption="The Sojourner Rover examines a rock on Mars. The rover traveled from Earth aboard the Mars Pathfinder space probe, then rolled down a ramp to the surface. Sojourner is only 24 3/4 inches (63 centimeters) long."]] ||
 * [[image:http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/103978main_mars9.jpg width="150" height="181" caption="Mars Global Surveyor studied the composition of the Martian surface, photographed the surface in detail, and measured its elevation. The space probe went into orbit around Mars in 1997."]] ||


 * [[image:http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/103968main_mars11.jpg width="150" height="148" caption="Mars was photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in August 2003 as the planet passed closer to Earth than it had in nearly 60,000 years."]] ||

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 * [[image:http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/103969main_mars12.jpg width="150" height="148" caption="Mars was photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope in August 2003 as the planet passed closer to Earth than it had in nearly 60,000 years."]] ||