Mars exploration - past, present and future

What was Mars research focused on in the past, what changes have occurred in research over the years and where are we going

Throughout human history, the red star has intrigued all of humanity and many cultures attributed mystical properties to its red color. With the developments in the fields of optics and telescopes, many began to wonder if the Red Planet was home to another human culture. But humanity's entry into the space age shattered most of the myths and legends about Mars.

Telescopic observations limited our research ability and starting in 1960 the Russians and the Americans started sending research spacecraft to Mars. Four decades ended with failures that cumulatively cost billions of dollars, but the lessons learned formed the basis of planetary exploration of Mars. The conclusions were used for a better understanding of the space and led to the development of more efficient tools that were used in the subsequent missions.

Despite the many failures, there were several successful missions. The pair of Viking spacecraft that landed on Mars in 1976 performed elaborate scientific experiments and showed that there is no presence of microorganisms on the surface of Mars. As a result, the scientific concept changed and subsequent missions focused more on geological research to study planetary history and atmospheric research.

The American Mars Odyssey began mapping Mars, starting in 2001. It was joined in 2004 by the European Mars Express, which provided high-quality photography. Spirit and Opportunity that landed on Mars in 2004 were another American success. The two robots were actually geological trackers that explored rocks and channels that used to be water sources - beyond the geological information received, a new wave of interest was created in the Red Planet and the research budgets increased significantly.

The renewed interest in space in recent years has sparked a wave of patriotism on Earth. New nations began to enter space exploration and various space agencies began preparing plans for manned exploration of the Moon and Mars. Suddenly a new need arose - human existence on another planet. It is true that science fiction films will not come true in the near future and it will take a long time before we sit in a bar on Mars or go skiing on Mount Olympus, but the order of the world has changed and greater attention has been given to sustaining human life in space and on other stars.

Unlike robotic missions that are sent in one direction, a manned mission requires two-way flight and basic existence on the surface of Mars. Mars research has taken another turn - the purpose of the future robots planned for Mars is (among other things) also to study the environmental impact on humans. Mars mapping done in the past was used to select a number of optimal landing points, the study of the atmosphere gave a lot of knowledge about the dust storms and the geological research will be used for a better utilization of resources by the astronauts without the need to bring raw materials from Earth. But there are still many unexplored areas.

Future robotic missions adapted their goals to the new research goals. The Phoenix, which was launched in August 2007 and should arrive in May 2008, will be used to search for ice in the poles. If the estimates come true, and water is found at the poles, then this will bring the first manned mission to Mars even closer.

It should be noted that launching a person into space requires an in-depth examination of all aspects. Newly established research teams began to examine lessons learned about long stays in space, first on the Russian Mir space station and today on the International Space Station. Communication in space was perfected with the help of NASA's "Deep Space Network" research, which is used for two-way communication in space. Although no adequate solution has been found for protection from the solar wind, progress in the field of propulsion has significantly reduced flight times and technologies under development should bring about even greater revolutions by the time manned flight becomes a reality.

The first manned flight to Mars, as it seems now, will be carried out by the Americans. Although the Russians, Chinese and Indians have already prepared plans. Besides the Americans, it seems that only the Russians have the knowledge and ability to send astronauts to Mars. We should note that both the Russians and the Americans have experimented a lot with launching research spacecraft to Mars, unlike the Chinese and the Indians. It is true that the Europeans, the Japanese and the British have also sent research spacecraft to Mars, but they do not have ambitious plans to send people to Mars.

If NASA does implement the plan, it is likely that the high altitudes will lead to the participation of the Europeans and possibly the Japanese as well. But as it stands right now, it won't be a joint operation like the space station. Also, the opponents of the plan claim that an operation of this magnitude will seriously harm scientific research since it will require the transfer of the budgets from all the other missions planned for the coming years to the Mars mission.

In conclusion, Mars exploration has taken many turns over the past 50 years. Planetary explorers have already realized that our neighbors contain no green creatures, no dinosaurs, and no micro-organisms. The basic study of the planets from the geological side did indeed contribute a lot to our knowledge but it did not provide enough headlines (yes, after all we are only human), but once they started getting pictures from the surface and seeing the resemblance to Earth, the thoughts of people on Mars like Movies. The imagination created a certain consensus in public opinion, and this renewed the human desire to explore the Red Planet. The road is still long until we get there, but there is a probability that it will happen in our lifetime. And let's hope it does happen.