We humans are not a species that can rest on our laurels, and when we do, we can't wait to find our next exploration, perhaps because our ancestors gave us such large and sophisticated brains to conquer the stars and seas. The twinkling stars in the night sky are part of what we want to know, including the mysterious Mars.
Ancient science and technology have not yet matured, and the understanding of Mars can only stay at the observation stage. The existence of Mars is recorded in the ancient Chinese book "Shangshu", and the work of the Tang Dynasty scholar Kong Yingda also contains descriptions of the five planets of the solar system, including Mars. And in the ancient West, from Kepler to Galileo, there were many people who made long-term observations of Mars.
With the advancement of science and technology, human beings finally have the conditions to explore space, and Mars has become one of the most natural destinations. However, initially humanity's motivation to explore space served more political purposes.
After World War II, the world formed a situation led by two hostile camps, and the competition of the Cold War spread from the ground to space, whether it was the moon or Mars, both became the target of contention.
On the path to the exploration of Mars, the USSR was ahead of the curve. In 1960, the Soviet Union launched the "Mars Program", which planned to send a series of probes to Mars. However, on October 10 of that year, shortly after the launch of the Mars-1A probe, the Mars 1A mission failed due to a failure in the third stage of the launch vehicle.
Only 4 days later, the Soviet Union launched the Mars-1b probe, similar to 1a, but also due to problems with the third section of the rocket, which made the mission fail again.
In 1962, the Soviet Union tried again and launched Sputnik 23, also known as Mars 1, to challenge Mars again. However, the Mars was adrift in space alone when its navigation equipment malfunctioned at a distance of 100 million kilometers from Earth.
A series of actions by the Soviet Union inspired the United States, and two years later, the United States launched the "Mariner program", which was much larger and more ambitious than the Soviet Union's Mars program. The Mariner program plans to explore not only Mars, but also Venus and Mercury. Mariner 1 and 2 were launched in 1962, but both targets were Venus and had nothing to do with Mars.
The first U.S. probe to send to Mars was Mariner 3, which was planned to fly over Mars and take a photograph, but the solar panels failed to open and the mission failed.
On November 28, 1964, the United States sent the sister probe Mariner 4 of Mariner 3. On July 14, 1965, Mariner 4 successfully skimmed the surface of Mars and took images of the crater-ridden planet. For the first time, humanity has witnessed this cold and dead planet.
Since then, the United States has become more and more experienced in Mars exploration, and its technology has become more mature. Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 probes were launched one after another and successfully captured images of Mars. In 1971, Mariner 8 and 9 probes went one step further and entered the orbit of Mars to map the surface of Mars.
However, on May 9, 1971, shortly after Mariner 8 lifted off, the launch vehicle malfunctioned and crashed back into the atmosphere again. It wasn't until May 31 that Mariner 9 successfully entered orbit around Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit Mars in human history.
Even as the United States was succeeding, the USSR did not stand still. Also in May 1971, the Soviet Union launched two probes, Mars 3 and Mars 4, with the more ambitious mission of achieving a soft landing on the surface of Mars.
On May 19, 1971, Mars 2 successfully reached Mars, but failed to achieve a soft landing and instead crashed to the surface, failing to send back any data or images about Mars. On May 31, Mars 3 began its journey to Mars, and after more than six months of spacewalking, it made a successful soft landing on the surface of Mars on December 2. It was the first time in human history that a spacecraft had made a soft landing on the surface of Mars, and the Soviet Union had finally overtaken it in this competition.
However, Mars 3 only worked on Mars for 14 seconds before losing contact with Earth. The Soviets could not even determine whether the Mars 3 rover got out of the lander. Nonetheless, Mars 2 and Mars 3 made a worthwhile trip to map the surface of Mars and probe the Martian magnetic field as they orbited Mars.
The United States, of course, did not want to be left behind, and in 1975 launched the Viking Mars exploration program. Corsair 1 was launched on August 20, 1975, and successfully landed on the surface of Mars on July 20 of the following year, sending back a large amount of data. Viking 1 worked on Mars for 6 years, becoming the first vehicle to make a soft landing on Mars and successfully probe it.
At the same time as the Viking 1 space travel, the United States launched the Viking 2 on September 9, 1975, which also landed on the surface of Mars and successfully carried out exploration activities.
However, in the 80s, the Soviet economy began to decline, Gorbachev led the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the exploration of Mars by Soviet scientists, although still ongoing, ended in several launches. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, other countries took its place and joined the exploration of Mars.
So far, nearly two-thirds of the probes launched to Mars have failed. Although more than 30 human probes have reached Mars, only the United States has made a real soft landing and successfully explored it. Now, there is one more, and you all know which one it is.
The Interstellar Journey of Human Intelligence: A History of the Struggle for Mars Exploration.
This article on the exploration of Mars is a detailed review of the human exploration of the mysterious Red Planet. From ancient observations to modern space exploration, the author presents the history of Mars in vivid language, as well as the fierce rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States in this space race.
First of all, when the article narrates the history of Mars exploration, it combines ancient observations with modern technology very cleverly. By depicting the depiction of Mars in ancient texts, such as the Shangshu and the Tang Dynasty scholar Kong Yingda, it shows that the human desire for the unknown has long been ingrained in our cultural traditions. This provided a historical source for the rapid development of science and technology later.
Second, the author gives a vivid account of the competition between the Soviet Union and the United States in the exploration of Mars. The article mentions the launch of the "Mars program" by the Soviet Union and the "Mariner program" of the United States, as well as a series of failures and successes in this space race. Such depictions make it easier for readers to understand the role of the political environment of this period in driving space exploration, emphasizing the close connection between technology and politics.
Of particular noteworthiness is the author's detailed description of the specific missions and reasons for the failure of each probe, such as the similar fate of Mars 1a and 1b, the failure of Mariner 3's solar panels, and the soft landing of Mars 3 with a communication failure. The presentation of these details not only adds to the realism of the article, but also gives the reader a deeper understanding of the Mars exploration process.
Finally, when the article talks about the Mars exploration mission after the collapse of the Soviet Union, other countries take over the Mars exploration mission, without ignoring the progress of Mars exploration during this period. This narrative, which extends to modern times, makes the article more time-sensitive and leaves expectations for future space exploration.
Overall, the article vividly outlines the journey of human exploration of Mars with clear clues, rich details, and vivid language. This is not only an article about scientific and technological progress, but also a magnificent epic that records the courage of human beings to move forward and chase the unknown.
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