Mars exploration landers.

[Guest]

Last weeks Perserverance lander has got me all excited for Mars again. What with looking for fossilised remains of past life, a technology testing helicopter and actual sounds from Mars.

As a six year old living in Kentish Town in the mid 1960's. I remember walking  to the library and looked at astronomy books. The best pictures of Mars at that time were grainy B&W photographs from ground based telescopes. Little did I know that man had his beedy little eyes on the red planet. Carl Sagan and his pals and the Soviet scientists were planning to visit Mars with Mariner fly bys and Soviet landers. NASA had sucess with the Viking landers in 1976. The first pictures from the Mars surface.

Just wonder that at the age that I am will my eyes hold out to see humans make it to Mars.lol.

I have found this story which shows the Curiosity rover pictured from Mars orbit. There were some Soviet landers from the early 1970's. Just wonder if the current orbiters could picture them from orbit. Mars 3 landed and began transmitting a picture and then failed.

MRO captures photo of Curiosity rover from Martian orbit - SpaceFlight Insider https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/solar-system/mro-captures-photo-of-curiosity-rover-from-martian-orbit/

 

Also a list of Mars landers.

List of Mars landers - Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mars_landers

Edited February 24, 2021 by Guest
Added text.

[Ags]

Some lovely images have come back already from Perseverance. I am also keenly following the developments by SpaceX at Boca Chica. I think bigger cheaper rockets will really open up Mars.  

I remember the early pictures back from Mars and thinking it looked so plain and ordinary and familiar, which was the most exciting thing - a planet nearby that wasn't utterly alien.

Here in Holland the state pension age is linked to life expectancy so tonight I was checking when I would retire. It turns out it will be at age 67 + nine months for me, in the late 2030s. My first thought was "Wow, I wonder what will be happening on Mars by then!"

Edited February 24, 2021 by Ags

[niallk]

I remember as a young kid, before I could read, having a kids picture book about the Viking landers.  All drawings, not photos.  It had a really profound and lasting effect on me- I'd love to find that book again!

[Paul M]

Viking was in my era. I still remember Carl Sagan delivering the Royal Institute Christmas Lecture on Viking. Nothing, for me, will ever trump the early explorers, Sky Crane or not!

 

[John]

I can vividly recall the Viking missions, reading the reports and being amazed at the images as they were published in the papers. I was 16 years old so it was an influential time for me.

A couple of years ago I had a chance to acquire the original painting below by David C Early F.R.A.S. It was painted in 1977 and is based on the Viking 1 and 2 images. It is quite a large work (100cm x 75cm) and occupies a wall in the "astronomy end" of our dining room 😀

[Guest]

31 minutes ago, Paul M said:

Viking was in my era. I still remember Carl Sagan delivering the Royal Institute Christmas Lecture on Viking. Nothing, for me, will ever trump the early explorers, Sky Crane or not!

 

I remember buying a copy of Time magazine from a news stand in 1976. It's top story was the Viking landers. Lovely glossy colour pictures from the Mars surface. I still have it somewhere. I was 16 years old. I can remember those Christmas lectures on BBC Two at tea time. What a loss was Carl Sagan.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Guest
Added text.