Red's Planet: Book 1

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There are signs of ancient floods on Mars, but now water mostly exists in icy dirt and thin clouds. On some Martian hillsides, there is evidence of liquid salty water in the ground. Today, three NASA spacecraft are circling, or orbiting Mars. The spacecraft are using scientific tools to measure the volcanoes, canyons, craters, temperature and the kinds of minerals on Mars. They also are taking pictures and searching for water.

Why we explore Mars—and what decades of missions have revealed

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this picture of Mars as it was making its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years!The rover chassis is home to three science instruments, as well. The Radar Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Experiment ( RIMFAX) is the first ground-penetrating radar on the surface of Mars and will be used to determine how different layers of the Martian surface formed over time. The data could help pave the way for future sensors that hunt for subsurface water ice deposits. Dive into this stunning map of different regions on the Red Planet, courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. In this programme, we’ll be discussing our closest neighbour in the solar system – the planet Mars.

Red Planet | Live Science Mars: The Red Planet | Live Science

Someone who can answer that is Dr Michael Meyer. As lead scientist on NASA’s Mars Exploration Programme, he spent years observing and recording the Red Planet.NASA's Curiosity rover detected methane— a potential indicator of microbial activity — expelled from the ground in the region known as Gale Crater. The probe also spotted intriguing evidence of organic compounds in the Martian soil, though what that means isn't entirely clear. Is there water on Mars? Whatever the Romans thought, civilisations throughout history have described looking into the night sky and seeing a bright, red light. But where does Mars’ characteristic colour come from?