The New Childrens Encyclopedia

2727

1990s

1988-89

Phobos 1 and 2

(USSR) were

both lost on

route to Mars.

2003

Europe’s Mars

Express orbiter

began taking

detailed pictures

of Mars.

1980s

1997

Mars Pathfinder (US) delivers

first successful rover to Mars.

2000s

1998

Nozomi Japan’s first

Mars explorer

failed with fuel

problems.

2008

Phoenix (US) landed

in Martian Arctic and

operated for over

5 months (before its

batteries went flat).

THE RED PLANET

WHERE IS THE WATER?

Today, Mars is very cold and the air is too

thin for liquid water to exist on the surface.

However, huge, winding channels suggest that

large rivers raged over the surface long ago.

The water was probably released in sudden

floods, possibly when underground ice

melted. These river channels have

been dry for billions of years.

Mars Explorers Many robotic

spacecraft have been sent to Mars but

failed. The successful Viking missions in

the 1970s included two orbiters and two

landers. The first rover was part of the

Mars Pathfinder mission of 1997. Today,

there are two large rovers on Mars

(Spirit and Opportunity) which are still

returning images and data to Earth.

SPIRIT AND OPPORTUNITY ROVERS

Two American automated (robotic) rovers

landed on Mars in January 2004 to search for

evidence of water.

Mars has two small moons,

Phobos and Deimos. They are

thought to be asteroids that were

captured by Mars long ago. Phobos is no

more than 17 miles (27 km) across with

large craters on its surface. Deimos is

just 7 miles (12 km) across and has

a smoother surface.

Northern plains

Phobos

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SPACE
Southern highlands