Is There Life on Mars?
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People have asked that question for years. Two explorers may soon answer it.
NAME THAT SPACECRAFT
The explorers are robotic spacecraft. Their mission is to look for life on Mars. If water flows on the red planet, there's a chance life may exist there as well.
Before the explorers could start their voyage of discovery, they needed a name. NASA ran a contest to name the robots.
Nearly 10,000 people entered the contest. The judges carefully read each entry. They finally chose one that had been written by third grader Sofi Collis.
Sofi was born in Russia, where she lived in an orphanage. When she was two years old, Sofi was adopted and brought to the United States.
In her essay, Sofi wrote, "I used to live in an orphanage. It was dark and cold and lonely. At night, I looked up at the sparkly sky and felt better. I dreamed I could fly there. In America, I can make all my dreams come true. Thank you for the 'Spirit' and the 'Opportunity.'"
SPACE ODYSSEY
Shortly after being named, Spirit and Opportunity were on their way. Last June, the two explorers were launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The launch was just the beginning. The flight to Mars takes seven months. And the journey is dangerous.
Over the years, humans have launched 30 missions to Mars. Only a third of them ever made it. The others developed problems or crashed into the planet.
If all goes well, Spirit and Opportunity will arrive at Mars this month. That's when the explorers get busy. After finishing their journey through space, the robots will orbit the red planet. They may see some of the most amazing features in the solar system.
A huge extinct volcano—Olympus Mons—towers above the rest of the Martian surface. On Earth, its base would cover many of the northeastern states.
Valles Marineris looks like a huge scar carved into the planet's surface. It's actually a giant valley that stretches for 2,500 miles—the distance between New York and Los Angeles. Landslides wash rocks and sand down the sides of the valley.
ROCKY LANDING
Spirit and Opportunity will not stay in orbit for long. Their mission is to explore the alien world itself. They have to land on the surface.
To get there, the spacecraft will fall through the planet's atmosphere. As the robots plummet downward, parachutes will open. That will keep them from dropping too fast. Then the robots will hit the ground—hard.
Don't worry, though. Large balloons will inflate during the fall. They will soften the robots' landing. Spirit and Opportunity will bounce safely across the rocky surface.
After the balloons deflate, the two robots will start exploring. But the pair aren't speed demons. They'll go only about two inches a second. That's less than three miles a day.
GOT WATER?
As they plod along, Spirit and Opportunity will look for something never found on Mars—water. The robots will try to find out if water ever existed on the red planet.
Why does it matter? Water is necessary for life. So if Mars has water, it may also have life.
That would be huge news. So far, Earth is the only known home to living things. Finding signs of Martian water, therefore, could turn the robots into two of history’s most famous explorers.
Article by Fran Downey. Online Extra and links by Brian LaFleur.
"Is There Life on Mars?" appears on pages 4-7 of our January-February 2004 issue.
// ONLINE EXTRA //
A MARS TIMELINE
Ages Ago
No one knows who first saw Mars. The ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all knew of it. The planet's name honors the Roman god of war.
1610
Galileo Galilei becomes the first person to observe Mars through a telescope—which he built himself.
1659
Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens makes drawings that show some details of the surface of Mars.
1830
Two Germans produce the first map of Mars.
1877
American astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Phobos and Deimos, the red planet's two moons.
1895
American astronomer Percival Lowell publishes the first of his three books about Mars. (He believed that canals covered the surface of Mars, and that the canals were built by intelligent beings. We now know this theories were false.)
1965
Mariner 4, an American spacecraft, sends the first close-up pictures of Mars to Earth. Compared to recent images, they are very fuzzy.
1971
A Soviet spacecraft, Mars 3, becomes the first to land on the planet's surface. But a dust storm causes its equipment to stop working after only 20 seconds.
1976
Two U.S. spacecraft, Viking 1 and Viking 2, successfully land on Mars. They analyze Martian soil, and send back detailed images of the surface.
1997
The Mars Global Surveyor enters the planet's orbit. The spacecraft studies Mars from every angle, sending back clear images of the entire planet.
Back to Top
// LINKS //
Games: Explorer 2202
Rocket your imagination into the future. Can you be the first to orbit all nine planets?
National Geographic: Return to Mars
Get a closer look at some of the discoveries made by the 1997 Pathfinder mission to Mars.
Explore Mars Now
Take a virtual peek at what a Martian base for human explorers might one day look like.
Exploring Mars
Scientists and space buffs created this handy site. It includes photos, an exploration time line, and plenty of links.
NASA Kids
Solve puzzles, watch cartoons, and learn amazing facts—all about space.
NASA: Mars Rover Mission
Follow Spirit and Opportunity as they make their historic voyage. Learn more about their mission and get the latest news from NASA.
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