Book of Mars
The history of Mars is intrinsically bound up with that of Earth – some scientists even think that the original building blocks of life came from there. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe, undeterred by the failure of its Beagle 2 lander back in 2003, recently beamed back some of the clearest images yet of a crater filled with water ice in the northern lowlands of what was once thought to be an arid world. Despite a chequered history of failed spacecraft and the so-called ‘Mars Curse’, the Red Planet is finally giving up some of its secrets. In this book it’s revealed what scientists know so far about the planet and the theories that may help us to understand it further, exploring how one day we could make it into another human home.
This story is from the Issue 119 edition of All About Space.
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This story is from the Issue 119 edition of All About Space.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MYSTERIES OF THE UNI WHERE ARE ALL THE SPIRAL GALAXIES?
There are far fewer spiral galaxies than elliptical ones in the Supergalactic Plane, and scientists are keen to discover why
ZOMBIE STARS
+10 OTHER TERRIFYING SPACE OBJECTS
HOW TO BEAT LIGHT POLLUTION
Thought it was impossible to observe the wonders of the night sky from towns and cities? Think again. Follow our tips and tricks on successfully observing through sky glow
15 STUNNING STAR CLUSTERS
These beautiful stellar groupings are spattered across the cosmos
Eileen Collins "It was a difficult mission...we were the first to see Mir"
Having served as both the first female pilot and first female commander of NASA's Space Shuttle, Collins boosted the involvement of women in space exploration to a whole new level
MARS LEAKS FASTER WHEN IT'S CLOSER TO THE SUN
The Red Planet has lost enough water to space to form a global ocean hundreds of kilometres deep
FUTURE TECH KANKOH-MARU
This ambitious reusable spacecraft will be capable of taking 50 people to and from orbit
THE FINAL FRONTIER
Beyond the reach of the Sun is a fascinating region of the cosmos that were only just beginning to explore
A long-lost moon could explain Mars' weird shape and extreme terrain
A long-lost moon could explain why Mars is so different from the other rocky planets in the Solar System. Today Mars has two tiny moons.
A sprinkling of cosmic dust may have helped kick-start life on Earth
Cosmic dust may have helped kick-start life on Earth. New findings challenge a widely held assumption that this wasn't a plausible explanation.
