1 The Moons of Mars Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Panic) are the sons of Ares and Aphrodite in Greek mythology. Both are much smaller than our own moon and are probably just asteroids which wandered too close to Mars and were captured by its gravity. 102

2 Crater “Stickney” Phobos orbits Mars in only 7 hours 40 minutes, or 3.5 orbits per Martian day. This means that Phobos orbits so fast that it appears to rise in the west and set in the east! It orbits only 9400 miles above Mars’ surface!! 103

3 Phobos 27 km long 90 meter deep grooves radiate from Stickney crater. These may indicate that the moon is not completely solid. 104

4 Deimos 15 km long Orbits ~20,000 km above Mars’ surface. Both moons were discovered by Asaph Hall in

5 NASA may establish a base on Phobos before landing on Mars. 106

6 Missions to Mars 41 space missions have been sent to Mars, however 22 of them failed for various reasons. The first attempt to fly-by Mars was Russia’s 1960A mission in October of This mission, like 6 more after it, failed to reach the Red Planet. The first successful mission to Mars was NASA’s Mariner 4, which flew by Mars in July, It sent back only 22 pictures! 107

7 Mariner 4 Not the most detailed images, huh? Image Credit: NASA 108

8 More missions During the 11 years between 1965 and 1976, 14 missions were sent by NASA and Russia to Mars: 7 were at least partly successful; 7 were failures. On July 20 th, 1976 (exactly 7 years after the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon), NASA’s Viking 1 landed on Mars’ Chryse Planitia (the Plain of Gold.) 109

9 The Chryse Planitia landing site of Viking 1 – quite the rock garden! Notice the pink sky. Image credit: NASA Click on this link to be taken to a NASA web page with a video about the Viking landers. 110

10 Viking 1 Lander …and the Orbiter 111

11 Vikings 1 & 2 Viking 1 was followed 2 months later by Viking 2. Vikings 1 & 2 had both orbiter and lander sections. The two orbiters sent back 55,000 pictures of Mars; the landers sent back 1400 pictures, measured the weather, and chemically analyzed the Martian soil for carbon-based compounds which might indicate life. 112

12 Viking Highlights Vikings 1 & 2 (1976) performed weather measurements, photographed Mars’ surface up close, tested the soil composition, examined Martian soil for life. At first, the life experiments yielded ambiguous results, but further testing revealed that the soil was oxidizing, and would actually be harmful to bacterial life. 113

Breaking News !!! The Vikings did find carbon compounds on Mars, but they contained chlorine also. At the time, these compounds were thought to have been part of the solvent used to clean the equipment while still back on Earth. Scientists today are re-thinking that assumption…more to follow. 114

14 The Viking 1&2 and Pathfinder Landing Sites 115 Utopia Planitia Acidalia Planitia

15 On July 4, 1997, the first “rover” mission to Mars landed: Mars Pathfinder, with its little rover “Sojourner”. Sojourner drove around the surface, chemically analyzing Martian rocks. Who was Sojourner Truth? Look her up! 116

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17 The little Sojourner Rover Image credits: NASA and JPL Sojourner Truth oha.ci.alexandria.va.us/fortward/ special-sections/freedom/images/ fw-freedom-sojourner.gif 118

18 Lander Highlights (2) Mars Pathfinder lander & Sojourner rover (1997) proved out new landing strategies, then examined Mars geology. 119

19 Twin peaks – Pathfinder landing site 120

20 The Most Recent Missions The Mars Climate Orbiter was launched in December, It was supposed to provide detailed information about atmospheric conditions on Mars. Unfortunately some of the orbit calculations were based on metric units and some on English units. Nobody bothered to check which units were being used, so the orbiter crashed into Mars! 121

21 In January, 1999, the Mars Polar Lander was launched. It was to have investigated the south polar ice cap. However, in December, 1999, NASA lost contact with the spacecraft for unknown reasons. Conspiracy theory, anyone? 122

22 Mars Global Surveyor (1996 launch, operated through 2006!) has mapped Mars with high resolution visible images & a laser altimeter (MOLA). 123 Mars Global Surveyor over Olympus Mons

23 A ‘typical’ high- resolution photo: gulliesincrater.jpg 124

Mars Odyssey continued where Mars Global Surveyor left off. In June of 2010, a photo from Odyssey revealed a pit or cave entrance. What could the existence of caves on Mars indicate? 125

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (launched in 2005) is taking photos with a resolution of 25 cm (~ 1 foot)! Recent series of photos indicates that the gullies seen at the edges of some craters are still active, but created by flowing liquid CO 2, rather than water. 126

26 aerobraking 127

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28 Saved the best for last! 2 missions that were successful…even more successful than anyone could have dreamed…were the 2004 Spirit and Opportunity rovers. Image: NASA and JPL 129

29 Spirit and Opportunity These 2 rovers are quite sophisticated. They have binocular cameras so they can see in stereo! They have a Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) which actually makes a wide shallow hole in rocks, so the interiors can be analyzed. 130

30 Spirit and Opportunity Both of these rovers, about the size of a Volkswagen ©, have lasted over 6 years, They were designed for 90 day missions! Check out the latest information and videos about Spirit and Opportunity at the official NASA web site:

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32 Next ’Big’ Mission Mars Science Laboratory – a rover nicknamed “Curiosity” will be launched this coming fall (2011). 133

33 Spirit Sojourner Curiosity Curiosity is much larger and more capable than previous Rovers. What’s missing on Curiosity? Solar panels! Curiosity has a nuclear power source. 134

34 Go to the website to find out about Curiosity’s science objectives: NASA, in cooperation with the European Space Agency, has a number of new and innovative types of missions planned for Mars. Go to this website to check them out: 135

Unfortunately, a manned mission is only in the planning stages. Don’t expect a manned mission anytime before about 2037! (according to NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.)

36 Thanks for checking out the Red Planet! 137

(JPL Quote)