By: Kaila, Bailey, Mersades, By: Kaila, Bailey, Mersades, Kimberlin, Courtney.Kimberlin, Courtney.

Mission to Mission to MarsMars

Mission to Mars

Mission to Mars

Exploring Mars

Mars is a very cold, windy, desolate place where the

average temperature is below zero.

• Mars has a climate much like earth. Water and life may have existed there. Mars may be able to tell us more about the earth.

•  People are looking for reservoirs of water and carbon dioxide, signs of life and the reason for the climatic change on mars.

• What has been found to suggest water? Water suggests that the planet could support life. Deep canyons, water runs, and shorelines suggest that there once was water on Mars.

• In 1976 Viking 1 touched down. From 1988-1996 flights to Mars were unsuccessful. The Hubble telescope was able to map accurately large areas of Mars. Mars has been explored mostly by space probes, by telescopes, and lately by robots on Mars.

• Right now there are robotic explorers on Mars that travel 40km/day. Soil samples have been taken. The goals are to see more of the surface of Mars, and find out about what the soil is made up of.

In 2007, a lander will examine subsurface ice in the northern polar region, and in 2009 a large rover

carrying a payload of laboratory instruments will search for ancient

habitable environments.

These robotic explorers will be able to trek up to 40 meters across the surface in a Martian day. Each rover will carry a set of instruments that will allow it to search for traces of liquid water that may have been present in the planet's past. The inflatable rovers make the pictures more clear and able to see so the pictures aren’t blurry.

•Rovers will increasingly rely on smart technologies to know where they are, where they want to go, and which soil and rock samples are worth studying and collecting. •Conduct more experiments, such as using ground-penetrating radar studies, to search for evidence of water.•Future rovers will travel to locations where they can rendezvous with other surface vehicles.

The last update was on March 7/05.•Spirit is in good health and flash memory is also in good shape despite the large panorama acquired.•A difficulty is Spirit was unable to up link due to a communications transmitter failure.