Background
Mars, the Red Planet, named for the Roman god of war because its color represented blood. The planet has been a source of mystery since the ancient Sumerians who believed that Mars was Nergal, the god of war and plague. Later, in Mesopotamian texts, Mars is referred to as the “star of judgement of the fate of the dead”. The existence of Mars as a wandering object in the night sky was recorded by ancient Egyptian astronomers. Literature from ancient China confirms that Mars was known by Chinese astronomers as the “fire star”.
By the 19th century, the resolution of telescopes reached a level sufficient for surface features to be identified. In 1877 Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli helped to produce the first detailed map of Mars which contained features he called canali. His term, which means “channels” or “grooves”, was popularly mistranslated in English as “canals”.
Influenced by the observations, Boston mathematician Percival Lowell founded an observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona used for the exploration of Mars. He published several books on Mars and life on the planet, which had a great influence on the public.The canali were independently found by other astronomers, like Henri Joseph Perrotin and Louis Thollon in Nice, using one of the largest telescopes of that time.
Seasonal changes, consisting of the diminishing of the polar caps and the dark areas formed during Martian summer in combination with the canals led to speculation about life on Mars, and it was a long-held belief that Mars contained vast seas and vegetation.
Even in the 1960s articles were published on Martian biology, putting aside explanations other than life for the seasonal changes on Mars. Detailed scenarios for the metabolism and chemical cycles for a functional ecosystem have been published.
Mars In Fiction
Human kinds imagination was captured by a number of stories and novels written about the Red Planet. Some described beings bent on conquest of the earth as in War of the Worlds, published in 1898 by H.G. Wells. Others, like Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars described a fully formed society living on the fourth planet. In 1950, Ray Bradbury wrote the definitive novel of human travel to Mars and establishing a presence on the Red Planet.
Myths
Map of Mars produced by the USAF in support of Mariner 4.
The idea that canals existed on Mars persisted into the 1960’s. A map of Mars was produced in 1962 by the US Air Force. This Mars plainly shows canals, half a century after they had largely been discarded by the scientific community. The map, known as the MEC-1 prototype, was prepared to assist with the upcoming Mariner missions to Mars. Earl C. Slipher, a colleague of Percival Lowell, assisted the Air Force and used his mentor’s old observations to compile MEC-1. So it’s no surprise it has canals. Slipher seems to have remained an advocate of the canals right up until his death in 1964.
End Of The Myths
Myths persist in the absence of fact and Mariner 4 became the myth buster of its time. Launched on November 28, 1964, Mariner 4 performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first close-up pictures of the Martian surface. It captured the first images of another planet ever returned from deep space. Their depiction of a cratered, seemingly dead world largely changed the scientific community’s view of life on Mars.
The Mariner 4 spacecraft consisted of an octagonal magnesium frame, 127 cm wide and 45.7 cm high. Four solar panels were attached to the frame with an end-to-end span of about 7 meters. An elliptical high-gain parabolic antenna was mounted at the top of the frame as well.
After launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 12, the Agena-D/Mariner 4 combination separated from the Atlas-D booster. Mariner 4 soon separated from the Agena and began cruise mode operations.
Mars Flyby
The Mariner 4 flew by Mars on July 14 and 15, 1965. Its closest approach was 9,846 km from the Martian surface and its distance to Earth was 216 million kilometers. The craft’s cameras were turned on and 21 pictures covering about 1% of the planets surface were transmitted to earth. All images were sent twice to ensure no data was missing or corrupt. Each individual photograph took approximately six hours to be transmitted back to Earth.
The Future
Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to take pictures of another planet and the first in a long line of explorers of Mars.
Since Mariner’s flyby, only 45% of all missions have been successful. Beginning this year a surge of new exploration will start, with NASA launching Mars 2020 including a new rover called Perseverance. Missions from China and United Arab Emirates will begin their journeys as well. Coming in 2022 the European Space Agency with Roscosmos will send an orbiter and lander, with India following in 2024.
Every spacefaring nation on earth has an active interest in the Red planet. It is only a matter of time before a manned mission will depart the earth-moon system, destination the fourth planet.
About The Author
Carl Rossi
Contributing author to http://WestEastSpace.com
The author is a retired Supply Chain/Logistics expert currently living in central Texas, USA. His passions include space exploration and fast sports cars. While his passion for fast sports cars has been satisfied, space exploration remains a burning ambition.
Carl Rossi holds an MBA in International Business and has been certified in Supply Chain Management, Logistics and Transportation by world wide industry organizations. He has been responsible for managing operations globally and has travelled extensively throughout Europe and Asia.
Retirement has allowed the author the opportunity to follow space extensively while also producing programs for community radio stations in Georgetown and Killeen, Texas. These shows can be heard online as well – Freeform on http://radiogeorgetown.org, Wednesdays at 6:00 PM central US time or 2300 hrs UTC; The Softer Side can be heard on http://knct.org anytime on demand.
