THE race is on. And man is going to Mars. On January 14, US President George Bush took a break from his war on terror and made an announcement that could very well set mankind on course for a whole new adventure. According to President Bush’s speech, man, more specifically the American variety, will first go to the Moon by 2015 and then, with probably Moon as the launching pad, zoom onto the Martian surface.
Yes, if the current space expeditions to the Red Planet don’t find any little green Martians, well, we humans are certainly interest in introducing the little Red Planet with our own kind. And to find more details about the US programme the best link is the official NASA link NASA: Mars Exploration http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html. Here you can bathe in just about all the information that you want to know about Mars. Science, missions, technology and news, loads of stuff. Like, did you know that Mars is known as the Red Planet because iron in its surface soil, long ago, reacted with tiny amount of oxygen left there, making the planet have the present rust colour?
The site is not only good for the regular star-gazer, but has special links for kids, students and the media. For kids, http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/kids/index.html there are activities such as planning a trip to Mars and making spacecraft models. However, coming back to the main NASA Mars site, the current serving on the menu here is the Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit. Delve into the world of information about the fourth rock from the Sun!
Other than the Americans, the Europeans too have been viewing the planet with eager looks. And the European Space Agency’s http://www.esa.int very own, Mars Express space craft is busy doing its job. Of course there’s a special page to the Beagle 2 craft that presumably landed safely on Mars, but so far, radio contact with it has not been possible. For the next update on the continuing efforts to get in touch with it, there’ll be an update on January 26. Don’t miss it!
Other highlights of the site include the Hubble telescope as well. Topics such as solar fireworks and infrared light are tackled through images, FAQs and expert commentary. More information is available at the BBC’s web site http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2003/race_for_mars/default.stm where in depth report and latest news on missions to the Red Planet. The link is a very good source of knowledge that delves both into reality, fiction and how to tackle the coming years of exploring Mars. A more serious look at the Planet is at http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/mars/index.shtml where articles about the various other bodies of the Solar System too are present. An audio-visual spectacle too awaits the visitor.
But the key question remains. Is there life on Mars? For the answer, well for the clue anyway, you can go to Space http://www.units.muohio.edu/dragonfly/space/ where you can read what NASA scientists Carl and Jaclyn Allen have to say about their search for life on Mars. See animated video clips of Mars rotating and the story of how fossils of Martian bacteria might have been formed and sent to Earth.
Chiefly for students and younger reader, one can read about the possibilities and lead a virtual expedition to the planet’s surface. Fun and educational, the visitor will have some trouble with QuickTime here. Otherwise, you won’t have any problem seeing Mars rotate on your computer screen.
And if you think that things aren’t moving on a fast enough pace, then maybe you’d like to join The Mars Society http://www.marssociety.org/. A bunch of us have taken matters into their own hands and now are working to further the efforts toward the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet.
Before the Mars Rover decided to send these high-resolutions pictures of our galactic neighbour, we had let our imagination wild and sites like Explore Mars http://www.exploremarsnow.org/ were the showcase of our understanding of Mars. The matter of fact is that they still are. This highly interactive-site is all about exploring and understanding the geography of the planet, with realistic habitats, rockets, ground cars and robots. All these activities, the creators of this site hope, will present concepts on the future exploration of Mars. And in the meantime, why not learn about the planet and have fun at the same time?
You know, Mars isn’t just the name of a planet. Yes, it’s a chocolate as well. But at the same time, there’s a Roman god, Mars also. And there’s information about this guy on the site, Encyclopaedia Mythica http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/mars.html. An encyclopaedia on mythology, folklore and legend, it presents us with nice little piece on Mars, god of war, and one of the most prominent and worshipped gods. By the way, March is named after Mars.
So, after M2K4 (Mars 2004), as the NASA site calls its current mission, a lot seems to be headed towards the Red Planet. And if you don’t want to miss out on all the action, better keep a track of all that is happening on the Net. Surely that’s easier than getting a ticket to the next flight to Mars!
THE race is on. And man is going to Mars. On January 14, US President George Bush took a break from his war on terror and made an announcement that could very well set mankind on course for a whole new adventure. According to President Bush’s speech, man, more specifically the American variety, will first go to the Moon by 2015 and then, with probably Moon as the launching pad, zoom onto the Martian surface.
