HISTORY
OF MARS

Mars formed from the same cloud of gas and dust that created the rest of the solar system. It ended up smaller than Earth, about half the diameter, because Jupiter's gravity pulled material away before Mars could grow any larger.

Early Mars had liquid water. There is strong evidence of ancient ocean beds, river channels, and lake basins. The northern lowlands may have held a shallow ocean covering a third of the planet. This is the Mars that scientists think could have had microbial life.

Mars lost its global magnetic field. Nobody knows exactly why. Without it, solar wind stripped away the atmosphere over millions of years. This is the moment Mars started becoming the cold, dry, thin-aired world we know today. Water either evaporated or froze underground.

The Tharsis region went through massive volcanic eruptions that built up Olympus Mons and the other giant volcanoes. These eruptions released gases and may have temporarily thickened the atmosphere, but the planet could not hold on to them for long.

Mars cooled off and volcanic activity dropped sharply. The planet settled into its current frozen state. Water is now locked in the polar ice caps and possibly in underground reservoirs. The surface became the red, rocky desert we see today.

NASA's Mariner 4 flew past Mars and sent back the first close-up photos. Humans saw craters, dust, and a thin atmosphere. No little green men. The pictures were disappointing to some but set off decades of Mars exploration that continues today.

NASA landed two Viking spacecraft on Mars. They tested soil samples for signs of life and sent back the first color photos from the surface. The life detection results were confusing and scientists still argue about what they mean 50 years later.

Spirit and Opportunity landed and found clear evidence that Mars had liquid water in the past. Opportunity kept going for 15 years, far beyond its 90-day planned mission. Then Curiosity landed in 2012 and found complex organic chemistry in the soil.

NASA landed Perseverance with a small helicopter called Ingenuity. Ingenuity was the first powered flight on another planet. Perseverance is collecting rock samples to be returned to Earth on a future mission. The groundwork for human exploration is being laid now.

The first human missions to Mars are expected sometime in the 2030s. Multiple space agencies and private companies are working toward this goal. Marsbound is planning to launch its first commercial tour group within 5 years of the first crewed landing.