Mars Overview
Mars is no place for the faint-hearted. It’s dry, rocky, and bitter cold. The fourth planet from the Sun, Mars, is one of Earth’s two closest planetary neighbors (Venus is the other). Mars is one of the easiest planets to spot in the night sky — it looks like a bright red point of light.
Despite being inhospitable to humans, robotic explorers — like NASA’s Perseverance rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter — serve as pathfinders to eventually get astronauts to the surface of the Red Planet.
The mars Report
New Year, New Mars
“Springtime on Earth has lots of trickling as water ice gradually melts. But on Mars, everything happens with a bang,” said NASA/JPL scientist Serina Diniega.
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MARS SAMPLE RETURN | Future Mission
NASA and the ESA (European Space Agency) are planning ways to bring the first samples of Mars material back to Earth for detailed study.
Launch: TBD
PERSEVERANCE MARS ROVER | Active Mission
The Mars 2020 mission Perseverance rover is the first step of a proposed roundtrip journey to return Mars samples to Earth.
Launch: July 30, 2020 | 11:50 UTC
Mars Landing: Feb. 8, 2021 | 20:55 UTC
CURIOSITY MARS ROVER | Active Mission
Curiosity is investigating Mars to determine whether the Red Planet was ever habitable to microbial life.
Launch: Nov. 26, 2011 | 15:02 UTC
Mars Landing: Aug. 6, 2012 | 05:32 UTC
MAVEN | Active Mission
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission is the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere.
Launch: Nov. 18. 2013 | 18:28 UTC
Mars Arrival: Sep. 22, 2014
MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER | Active Mission
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter searches for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long period of time.
Launch: Aug. 12, 2005 | 15:02 UTC
Mars Arrival: Mar. 10, 2006
MARS ODYSSEY | Active Mission
Mars Odyssey mission created the first global map of chemical elements and minerals that make up the Martian surface.
Launch: Apr. 7, 2001 | 15:02:22 UTC
Mars Arrival: Oct. 24, 2001
Why Do We Go?
Mars is one of the most explored bodies in our solar system, and it’s the only planet where we’ve sent rovers to explore the alien landscape. NASA missions have found lots of evidence that Mars was much wetter and warmer, with a thicker atmosphere, billions of years ago.
Explore Mars with Us about Why Do We Go?
Mars Relay Network: Communications Bridge Between Mars & Earth
Beyond the Moon
Humans to Mars
Like the Moon, Mars is a rich destination for scientific discovery and a driver of technologies that will enable humans to travel and explore far from Earth.
Mars remains our horizon goal for human exploration because it is one of the only other places we know in the solar system where life may have existed. What we learn about the Red Planet will tell us more about our Earth’s past and future, and may help answer whether life exists beyond our home planet.
Learn More About Humans to Mars about Humans to Mars
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