Mars has always been interested in man, first of all, the possibility of life on it, and therefore scientists have done a lot to study it. We invite you to recall the main dates in the history of his research.
24 October 1601 Death of Tycho Brahe
It might not seem right that tragic events such as the death of an astronomer could be important for planetary studies. Undoubtedly, all his life Tycho Brahe was extremely valuable to science. He created the most accurate observational instruments of his time, the best before the invention of the telescope, and with these made careful observations of the sky. Nevertheless, Tycho jealously guarded this data, especially from his assistant Johannes Kepler, whom he assigned to determine the orbit of Mars in his celestial model (in which the Earth was the center of the universe).
After the death of Tycho Brahe, Kepler was able to obtain this data (although he did not use the most legal means). Using Tycho Brahe's observations, Kepler discovered that the orbits of Mars and all other planets are ellipses, not circles. With this data, Kepler was able to determine the laws of motion of the planets, which describe how they revolve around the Sun in the solar system, and laid the foundation for describing Newton's law of gravity.
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August 6, 1672 Observation of the polar cap
Dutch scientist Christian Huygens and his telescope have clarified many of the mysterious features of the solar system. In August 1672, Huygens observed a bright spot on Mars, which was later called the polar cap. The question of water on Mars plagued scientists many centuries later.
September 5, 1877 Exciting discoveries
Astronomers have observed Mars for hundreds of years and have always concluded that this planet has no satellites. This continued until 1877, when Mars came closest to the Sun. This is the best time to observe the planet. It was then that Asaf Hall finally noticed one satellite. It turned out to be Deimos, discovered on August 12th. A few days later, on August 18, while watching Deimos, he noticed Phobos as well.
In addition, Giovanni Schiaparelli, while observing Mars at the same time, was able to detect linear structures on its surface, which he called Canali. After succumbing to their imaginations, many misinterpreted the word as “canals,” and therefore began to wonder if they were artificial and who could have built them on Mars. After decades of research, it turned out that the "channels" were just an optical illusion, the result of the efforts of astronomers looking for features of the planet at the limit of visual resolution.
April 12, 1963 Is there air there?
In April 1963, a team of scientists used spectral analysis to determine if the Martian atmosphere contains air. It turned out that there is water in the atmosphere, but it is extremely small, in fact, much less than in the air over the hottest deserts on Earth. In addition, the atmosphere of Mars is very thin and consists almost entirely of carbon dioxide. The hope of finding the Martians faded with each new exploration.
July 14, 1965 Mariner 4 success
In 1965, humanity made its best contact with Mars to date, when the Mariner 4 spacecraft was able to fly over the planet. He took the first photographs of the surface of Mars, which turned out to be in fact the world's first images of another planet, taken in the depths of space. Observers on Earth were finally able to see the Red Planet in all its glory. There were no channels, no water, no Martian inhabitants, only a surface covered with craters that resembled lunar craters.
November 14, 1971 Mariner 9 orbiting Mars
On November 14, 1971, Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to enter Mars orbit. Quite unexpectedly for scientists, Mariner 9 witnessed a dust storm that engulfed the entire planet. Volcanoes, canyons and ice clouds have also been discovered on Mars. One of the canyons, which was 4,000 km long, was named the Mariner Valley after the pioneering spacecraft. It has been in Mars orbit for almost a year and during this time was able to take more than 7,000 photographs and display about 80% of its surface.
July 20, 1976 Viking 1 lands on the surface
Viking 1 was the first American spacecraft to land on the surface of Mars. Since landing and for six years, Viking 1 and its later counterpart, Viking 2, have sent images of Mars and its weather data to Earth, and conducted experiments, despite the fact that the mission was only scheduled for 90 days! Scientists have found that Mars has different rock types, potentially from different points of origin, as well as different seasons and calm winds at night. For the first time, earthlings were able to imagine what the rocky soil of the planet looks like and feel its stormy winds.
August 7, 1996 Life … or something similar
While orbiters and landers have proven conclusively that no humanoids live on Mars, speculation remained regarding tiny life forms, such as microbes, that could lurk on or below the surface. The revelation seemed to come when a group of scientists announced on August 7, 1996 that they had found a meteorite from Mars in Antarctica that contains microscopic Martian fossils.
Obviously, such a statement has sparked public debate and speculation. An intensive study of the meteorite and its contents has shown that the "fossils" are most likely the result of some natural process, and not the remains of life. Nevertheless, this conclusion sparked a debate about whether we know how to recognize life from another planet, if we find it, and what is life really?
July 24, 1997 Mars Rover Leads the Way
Astronomers learned a lot about Mars from orbiters and descent vehicles, but until July 4, 1997, nothing stepped on its surface. On that day, Pathfinder landed on Mars, releasing a tiny rover that was able to travel the planet. It was designed to run for seven days, but was ultimately able to last 12 times longer, sending back images and data on the wind and weather of Mars. More importantly, the Pathfinder mission proved that lander could be more economical than the extremely costly Viking missions, and paved the way for Mars rovers in the decades to come.
September 28, 2015 Liquid at last
On September 28, 2015, NASA scientists announced that spectra taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed liquid water flowing on the planet's surface. The water was believed to be uninhabitable, but questions remained about its source.
Is it coming out of the ground somewhere, or perhaps condensing out of the air? Perhaps the manned flights to Mars, which are buzzing about all the media, will help us clarify this issue.
Anna Pismenna