Discovering Mars : a history of observation and exploration of the Red Planet

For millenia humans have considered Mars the most fascinating planet in our solar system. We've watched this Earth-like world first with the naked eye, then using telescopes, and, most recently, through robotic orbiters and landers and rovers on the surface. Historian William Sheehan and astronomer and planetary scientist Jim Bell combine their talents to tell a unique story of what we've learned by studying Mars through evolving technologies. What the eye sees as a mysterious red dot wandering through the sky becomes a blurry mirage of apparent seas, continents, and canals as viewed through Earth-based telescopes. Beginning with the Mariner and Viking missions of the 1960s and 1970s, space-based instruments and monitoring systems have flooded scientists with data on Mars's meteorology and geology, and have even sought evidence of possible existence of life-forms on or beneath the surface. This knowledge has transformed our perception of the Red Planet and has provided clues for better understanding our own blue world. __Discovering Mars__ vividly conveys the way our understanding of this other planet has grown from earliest times to the present. The story is epic in scope—an Iliad or Odyssey for our time, at least so far largely without the folly, greed, lust, and tragedy of those ancient stories. Instead, the narrative of our quest for the Red Planet has showcased some of our species' most hopeful attributes: curiosity, cooperation, exploration, and the restless drive to understand our place in the larger universe. Sheehan and Bell have written an ambitious first draft of that narrative even as the latest chapters continue to be added both by researchers on Earth and our robotic emissaries on and around Mars, including the latest: the Perseverance rover and its Ingenuity helicopter drone, which set down in Mars's Jezero Crater in February 2021. For millenia humans have considered Mars the most fascinatingplanet in our solar system. We've watched this Earth-like worldfirst with the naked eye, then using telescopes, and, mostrecently, through robotic orbiters and landers and rovers on thesurface. Historian William Sheehan and astronomer and planetaryscientist Jim Bell combine their talents to tell a unique story ofwhat we've learned by studying Mars through evolving technologies.What the eye sees as a mysterious red dot wandering through the skybecomes a blurry mirage of apparent seas, continents, and canals asviewed through Earth-based telescopes. Beginning with the Marinerand Viking missions of the 1960s and 1970s, space-based instrumentsand monitoring systems have flooded scientists with data on Mars'smeteorology and geology, and have even sought evidence of possibleexistence of life-forms on or beneath the surface. This knowledgehas transformed our perception of the Red Planet and has providedclues for better understanding our own blue world. DiscoveringMars vividly conveys the way our understanding of this otherplanet has grown from earliest times to the present. The story isepic in scope-an Iliad or Odyssey for our time, at least so farlargely without the folly, greed, lust, and tragedy of thoseancient stories. Instead, the narrative of our quest for the RedPlanet has showcased some of our species' most hopeful attributes:curiosity, cooperation, exploration, and the restless drive tounderstand our place in the larger universe. Sheehan and Bell havewritten an ambitious first draft of that narrative even as thelatest chapters continue to be added both by researchers on Earthand our robotic emissaries on and around Mars, including thelatest: the Perseverance rover and its Ingenuity helicopter drone,which set down in Mars's Jezero Crater in February 2021 Cover Praise for Discovering Mars Title Copyright Dedication Contents Foreword Preface 1. Wanderers and Wonderers 2. The Warfare with Mars 3. The First Telescopic Reconnaissance 4. Mappers of Strange Lands and Seas 5. Mars Above the Dreaming Spires 6. The Moons of Mars 7. A Tale of Two Observers 8. Mars in the Gilded Age 9. The Rise and Fall of the Canals 10. The Martian Sublime 11. Marsniks and Flyby Mariners: The 1960s 12. A Martian Epic: Mariner 9 13. Vikings Invade the Red Planet: 1976–1980 14. A Sedimentary Planet 15. Baby Steps: Back to the Surface with Pathfinder 16. Mineral Mappers 17. Living on Mars with Spirit, Opportunity, and Phoenix 18. Mountain Climbing with Curiosity Color Plates 19. Atmospheric Explorers 20. Shooting the Moon(s): Spacecraft Exploration of Phobos and Deimos 21. Ongoing and Upcoming Missions: The 2020s 22. Our Future Mars Acknowledgments Appendix A: Chronology of Mars Mission Launches Appendix B: Mission and Instrument Acronyms Appendix C: Physical and Orbital Characteristics of Mars, Phobos, and Deimos Appendix D: Oppositions of Mars, 1901–2099 Appendix E: Mars Nomenclature Appendix F: A Seasonal and Historical Almanac for Mars Appendix G: Timekeeping on Mars Appendix H: NASA’s Historical Investment in Mars Exploration Notes Index About the Authors "For millenia humans have considered Mars the most fascinating planet in our solar system. We've watched this Earth-like world first with the naked eye, then using telescopes, and, most recently, through robotic orbiters and landers and rovers on the surface. Historian William Sheehan and astronomer and planetary scientist Jim Bell combine their talents to tell a unique story of what we've learned by studying Mars through evolving technologies. What the eye sees as a mysterious red dot wandering through the sky becomes a blurry mirage of apparent seas, continents, and canals as viewed through Earth-based telescopes. Beginning with the Mariner and Viking missions of the 1960s and 1970s, space-based instruments and monitoring systems have flooded scientists with data on Mars's meteorology and geology, and have even sought evidence of possible existence of life-forms on or beneath the surface. This knowledge has transformed our perception of the Red Planet and has provided clues for better understanding our own blue world."-- Provided by publisher "A leading historian of astronomy and a leading planetary scientist who works at the forefront of space exploration provide a comprehensive history of the solar system's most alluring planet beyond Earth. William Sheehan and Jim Bell chronicle how ancient watchers of the skies attended to Mars's red color and baffling movements, how three and a half centuries of telescopic observations added vistas and controversies around possible seas and continents and canals, and how the current era of exploration by flyby, orbiter, lander, and rover spacecraft have conjured for us the reality of a world of towering shield volcanoes, vast canyons, ancient dry riverbeds-and even possible evidence of past life. A unique collaboration between two authors on the forefront of Mars explorations, past and future, Discovering Mars provides an ambitious, detailed, and evocative account of humanity's enduring fascination with the Red Planet"-- Provided by publisher