1. Title slide

2. Stages of Mars Exploration Naked-eye Observation
Telescopic Observation
Spacecraft Fly-by
Orbiters
Landers & Rovers
Sample Return
Human Exploration
Earth's closest neighbor and fourth planet from the Sun; from ancient astronomers to modern scientist’, Mars has been the subject careful scrutiny.
Past Explorations: Naked-eye Observations, Telescopic Observations, Spacecraft Fly-bys
Present Explorations: Spacecraft Orbiters, Landers and Rovers
Future Explorations: Sample Return, Human Explorations
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3. Earth's closest neighbor and fourth planet from the Sun; from ancient astronomers to modern scientist’, Mars has been the subject careful scrutiny.
Past Explorations: Naked-eye Observations, Telescopic Observations, Spacecraft Fly-bys
Present Explorations: Spacecraft Orbiters, Landers and Rovers
Future Explorations: Sample Return, Human Explorations
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4. The Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens ( ) draws Mars using an advanced telescope of his own design. He records a large, dark spot on Mars, probably Syrtis Major. He notices that the spot returns to the same position at the same time the next day, and calculates that Mars has a 24 hour period.
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Credit: Christiaan Huygens by Bernard Vaillant, Museum Hofwijck, Voorburg (public domain) Hyugens drawing of Mars from “Mars, The Lure of the Red Planet” (public domain)
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5. (Left) This 1894 map of Mars was prepared by Eugene Antoniadi and redrawn by Lowell Hess.
(Right) A Hubble Space Telescope photo of Mars shows the modern view of our neighboring planet.
Credit & Copyright: Tom Ruen, Eugene Antoniadi, Lowell Hess, Roy A. Gallant, HST, NASA

6. Percival Lowell ( ), was an astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars. He believed Mars was much like Earth with water, vegetation, and an atmosphere.
In 1909 the Mount Wilson Observatory telescope in California allowed closer observation of the structures Lowell had interpreted as canals, and revealed irregular geological features.
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Credits: Percival Lowell at 24 inch Clark Telescope: Mars drawings:
Percival Lowell portrait:

7. Early telescopic images of Mars showing changes over a period of 17 years.
Annual variations, such as the growing and shrinking of the polar caps, have been observed from Earth for hundreds of years, although it was not until spacecraft visited the Red Planet that it was recognized that these variable caps are not composed of water, but of carbon dioxide (CO2) frost.
Credit: Mars, E. C. Slipher, Lowell Observatory

8. Spacecraft: 49 Successful: 20
Mars Exploration Family Portrait - the satellites, probes, landers and rovers of Martian investigation by four countries. Engineering interplanetary journeys is very complicated. The exploration of Mars has experienced a high failure rate, but others have met with unexpected levels of success.
Currently there are two scientific rovers on the surface of Mars, Opportunity and Curiosity, and five orbiters surveying the planet: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Orbiter Mission and MAVEN.
Mars exploration is risky business with a success rate of about 50%
Credit: Jason Davis / astrosaur.us 8
Spacecraft: 49
Successful: 20

9. FLYBY MISSIONS MARINER 6 & 7 - 1969 MARINER 4 - 1965
NASA’s Mariner 4 mission in 1965, was the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the Martian surface.
Mariner 6 and Mariner 7, in 1969, completed the first dual mission to Mars in close flybys of the equator and south polar regions. Both spacecraft were designed to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars, returning intriguing data and hundreds of images. 
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Credit: NASA

10. ORBITER MISSIONS VIKING – 1976
NASA's Viking mission to Mars in 1976 was composed of two pairs of spacecraft, Viking 1 and Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and lander. The four spacecraft provided numerous new insights into the nature and history of Mars.
The Mars mosaic image from Viking Orbiter 1, centers on the Valles Marineris canyon system, over 2,500 miles (4,000 km) long and up to 6 miles (10 km) deep. 
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Credit: NASA

11. ORBITER MISSIONS MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR (MGS) - 1997
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) arrived at the Red Planet in 1997 to study surface features and geological processes, determine the composition, distribution and physical properties of rocks and ice, map global topography and monitor the planet’s weather.
Mars Orbiter Camera aboard MGS obtained the image of Olympus Mons on its 263rd orbit. 
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Credit: Malin Space Science Systems/NASA

12. ORBITER MISSIONS MARS ODYSSEY - 2001
The Odyssey mission is to detect water and shallow buried ice, and study the radiation environment. Odyssey has served as an important communications link between Mars and Earth for the Exploration Rovers, the Phoenix Lander, and the Curiosity rover.
Fans and ribbons of dark sand dunes creep across the floor of Bunge Crater in response to winds blowing from the direction at the top of the picture.
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Credit: NASA/Malin Space Science Systems

13. ORBITER MISSIONS MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER (MRO)- 2006
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, or MRO, has studied the Red Planet's atmosphere and terrain from orbit since 2006 and also serves as a key data relay station for other Mars missions, including the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover and its recent tracks from driving in Gale Crater appear in an image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Dec. 11, 2013.
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Credit: NASA

14. ORBITER MISSIONS
Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN)
NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft arrived at Mars in It is the first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars. MAVEN will obtain critical measurements of the Martian atmosphere to help understand dramatic climate change on the red planet over its history.
Ultraviolet views of Martian atmosphere escaping from the planet will allow researchers to determine the amount of water that has escaped over time, transforming the planet to the cold and dry climate of today.
The MAVEN spacecraft has observed two unexpected phenomena in the Martian atmosphere: an unexplained high-altitude dust cloud and aurora that reaches deep into the Martian atmosphere.
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Credit: NASA

15. LANDER MISSIONS VIKING - 1976
Viking 1 Lander was the first successful mission to land on Mars when it touched down at Chryse Planitia. Viking 2 Lander set down at Utopia Planitia. Both landers collected images and science data on the Martian surface, and conducted biology experiments designed to look for possible signs of life. Viking found no traces of life but did find all the elements essential to life on Earth: carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus. 
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Credit: NASA

16. LANDER MISSIONS PATHFINDER – 1997
NASA’s Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner rover was designed to demonstrate a low-cost way of delivering science instruments and a free-ranging rover to the surface of Mars. Its unique cocoon airbag landing and unfolding system was the forerunner of more advanced rovers such as Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity.
The mission also made significant contributions to what was known about Mars' geology and meteorology at the time. Pathfinder not only accomplished this goal but also returned an unprecedented amount of data and outlived its primary design life.
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Credit: NASA

17. Mars Phoenix Lander – Landing Animation
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18. LANDER MISSIONS PHOENIX – 2008
 Phoenix was the first mission to collect meteorological data in the Martian arctic needed by scientists to accurately model Mars' past climate and predict future weather processes. 
During its mission, Phoenix confirmed and examined patches of the widespread deposits of underground water ice detected by Odyssey and identified a mineral called calcium carbonate that suggested occasional presence of thawed water. The lander also found soil chemistry with significant implications for life and observed falling snow. The mission's biggest surprise was the discovery of perchlorate, an oxidizing chemical on Earth that is food for some microbes and potentially toxic for others.
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Credit: NASA

19. ROVER MISSIONS SOJOURNER – 1997
 Sojourner was a small rover that was sent to Mars in 1997 as part of NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission. The six-wheeled Sojourner rover vehicle was only 11 inches tall by 2 feet long by 19 inches wide (280 x 630 x 480 mm). The tiny vehicle, which NASA called a "micro-rover", had a top speed of only 79 feet per hour (0.4 meters/minute). Sojourner had a mass of 11.5 kg, so it weighed about 25 pounds on Earth or just under 10 pounds on Mars.
Sojourner spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain, snapping photographs and taking chemical, atmospheric and other measurements. It also performed a number of technology experiments designed to provide information that will improve future planetary rovers.
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20. Mars Exploration Rover – Spirit and Opportunity - Landing Animation
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21. ROVER MISSIONS MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS (SPIRIT/OPPORTUNITY) – 2004
Primary among the mission's scientific goals is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. The spacecraft are targeted to sites on opposite sides of Mars that appear to have been affected by liquid water in the past. The landing sites are at Gusev Crater, a possible former lake in a giant impact crater, and Meridiani Planum, where mineral deposits (hematite) suggest Mars had a wet past.
An elongated crater called "Spirit of St. Louis," with a rock spire in it, dominates a recent scene from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.
Opportunity completed its 4,000th Martian day, or sol, of work on Mars on April 26, The rover has been exploring Mars since early 2004.
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22. Mars Science Laboratory – Curiosity – Landing Animation
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23. ROVER MISSIONS MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY (CURIOSITY) – 2012
The Mars Science Laboratory and its rover centerpiece, Curiosity, is the most ambitious Mars mission yet flown by NASA. The rover's primary mission is to find out if Mars is, or was, suitable for life. Another objective is to learn  more about the red planet's environment.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its drill to collect sample powder from inside a rock target called "Telegraph Peak." The target sits in the upper portion of "Pahrump Hills," an outcrop the mission has been investigating.
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24. FUTURE MISSIONS SAMPLE RETURN MISSION
Mars Sample Return is a proposed mission to return samples from the surface of Mars to Earth. The mission would use robotic systems and a Mars ascent rocket to collect and send samples of Martian rocks, soils and atmosphere to Earth for detailed chemical and physical analysis.
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25. Orion – Launch Animation
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26. FUTURE MISSIONS HUMAN EXPLORATION MISSION
Eventually, humans will most likely journey to Mars. Getting astronauts to the Martian surface and returning them safely to Earth, however, is an extremely difficult engineering challenge. A thorough understanding of the Martian environment is critical to the safe operation of equipment and to human health, so the Mars Exploration Program will begin to look at these challenges in the coming decade.
In terms of the current U.S. space program, NASA’s long-term program Orion has a projected pace of development such that, as of late 2014, human spaceflight to Mars is anticipated in about That mission will be preceded by shorter flights for the up to four-person capsule involved, with experiments taking place to better the technologies protecting Mars-bound astronauts from the radiation of deep space.
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Space explorations!
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