Planetarium: Early Mars Exploration

Material Information

Abstract:: Early Mars Exploration John Rusho (Physics) Aside from its apparent motion in the sky, the earliest explorations of Mars were only possible by telescope. Advancing instrumentation revealed Mars to be considerably Earthlike, leading to abundant speculation, much of which was incorrect. With the advent of Earth satellites and space probes, physical exploration of Mars with spacecraft began on October 10th 1960, with the launch of the first attempted flyby mission by the Soviets, which failed. Together, the Soviet Union and the United States launched twenty-three missions to Mars by the end of the 1970’s. Sixteen of these missions failed. Notable successes were: First flyby (Mariner 4, USA, 1965), First impact (Mars 2, USSR, 1971), First lander and rover on the Martian surface (Mars 3, USSR. 1971), First orbiter (Mariner 9, USA, 1971), Extended operation from the surface (Vikings 1 and 2, USA, 1976). Details from these landmark missions will be presented.
Acquisition:: Collected for SUNY Oswego Institutional Repository by the online self-submittal tool. Submitted by Zach Vickery.