For centuries people believed that Mars existed inhabited by intelligent beings. In the 19th century, telescopic observations appeared to show that a advanced civilization, able to carry out exceptional hydraulic engineering work. However, this theory was refuted by later observations and especially by the first “close” missions. In fact, space agencies have been broadcasting since the 1960s Robotic vehicles in orbit and on the planet's Earth.
The missions made collecting possible lots of scientific data, but after revealing the dry and desert-like character of Mars' surface, they made the Red Planet lose some of the charm it had in the past. Nevertheless, Mars continues to attract great interest, as evidenced by the high number of organized missions to explore it. In addition, a dream has been widespread for several decades: to bring Man on the ground of the Red Planet.
Mars in ancient times
Well-known is Mars, one of the planets visible to the naked eye since the antiquity and it had already been studied and observed by the Egyptians and Babylonians. At the time of Greco-Roman civilization We have given him the name by which we know him: the Greeks baptized him Ares, name of the god of war who became Mars in Roman civilization. Some non-Western cultures, such as India, also devoted themselves to observing the planet in ancient times. In addition, Mars was one of the first celestial bodies to which Galileo turned in the 17th century. Telescopejust invented.
The Canals of Mars and Science Fiction
In the 19th century, advances in telescopes allowed for more precise observations. Among other things, the two natural satellites of Mars were identified and named Phobos and Deimos. But the most sensational “discovery” was that of an Italian astronomer, Giovanni Schiaparelliwho in 1877 discovered the presence of furrows on the Martian soil and interpreted them as artificial irrigation canals created by a advanced civilization.
The discovery captured the imagination of the entire world. The idea spread that the Red Planet was inhabited by intelligent beings, which they were generally portrayed as green hominids with antennae. Many between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century science fiction works whose protagonists were the inhabitants of Mars, including the famous novel by HG Wells, The War of the Worlds (1897), which recounts an invasion of Earth by the Martians. During the same period, the term “Martians » began to be used as a synonym for aliens.
Advances in Astronomy in the 20th Century
Observations made in the 20th century reduced the scope of discoveries and already at the beginning of the century some astronomers hypothesized that the “channels” observed by Schiaparelli were just that optical Ilusion, a hypothesis that was later proven correct. However, the belief that an advanced civilization existed on the planet did not immediately disappear and the canal hypothesis continued to be debated until the 1960s. Finally, Mars was imagined like an earth-like planet, populated by large animals and covered with vegetation.
The first missions to Mars
When space travel began, the Red Planet immediately became an object of interest and, after the Moon, it was the first celestial body to which space agencies sent objects. Probes and robotic vehicles. Missions, like other space flights, served both scientific purposes and the prestige that came from the ability to explore the planet. The Soviet Union started doing this as early as 1960 Mars program and I tried to do the first one hover, i.e. short-range flybys of the planet, but the missions were unsuccessful. The probe then successfully completed the flyby in 1964 Sailor 4 from NASA.
The missions continued in the following years, but produced different results than expected: the planet was discovered to exist barren and full of craters and which contains neither vegetation nor large living creatures. However, exploration continued and in 1972 the USSR sent two of them to Mars. Countries (i.e. vehicles that land but cannot move), called Mars 2 and Mars 3. They were the first man-made objects to reach their Mars, but they stopped sending information for just a few seconds and stopped working . The American program was more successful Vikingswho landed two landers and two on Mars in 1976 Orbiters (vehicles capable of orbiting the planet) that operated for six years, sending images and scientific data back to Earth.
Current missions and scientific discoveries
After Viking, Mars exploration was stopped and only resumed in 1988. Since then, the main focus has been to check whether microorganisms or other elementary life forms exist on the planet or have existed in the past.
The missions were numerous. In 1997, NASA sent the first one to the Red Planet roveri.e. a moving robot vehicle, in the 2000s different countries have organized explorations: in addition to the United States and Russia, Japan, India, the European Space Agency, China and the United Arab Emirates have also done so. For its part, NASA has landed four more rovers on Mars: Spirit and opportunity in 2003, Curiosity in 2011 and Perseverance in 2021. Some space agencies, including NASA itself, have also launched artificial satellites into Mars' orbit.
The missions produced extraordinary scientific resultsThis will allow us to map the planet, study its atmosphere and conduct tests for possible human missions.
The future and manned missions to Mars
Several space agencies plan to send new vehicles to Mars in the coming years. The goals include the Search for life forms and the collection of Rock samples bring to earth. However, the “forbidden” dream is to see a human crew arriving on the Red Planet. The idea, born many years ago as a science fiction project, took concrete form after the start of space travel.
The undertaking is expensive and very complex, yet the United States and other countries have expressed their desire to carry it out. Recently, even a private company, Elon Musk's SpaceX, announced plans to launch manned missions to the Red Planet and even establish permanent colonies there. But at the moment, There are no defined programs and it is impossible to know if and when the “conquest” of Mars will be achieved.