This composite image was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Click on image for full size (30K JPG) Courtesy of NASA

Mars is much like Venus-- it's very bright and therefore easily spotted in the night sky. Because of this, we don't know who exactly discovered Mars. We do know it was named after the Roman god of war, because its reddish color reminded people of blood.

In 1659, Christian Huygens discovered a strange feature on the surface of the Red Planet. It was later called the Syrtis Major. Fear of Martian invasion has been in society ever since. In 1802, one scientist was so convinced there was life on Mars that he wanted to draw huge figures in the snow to signal the Martians!

In 1877, astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli discovered what he believed to be several lines crossing one another. He claimed they were water canals made by intelligent creatures. His work spawned many science fiction books and movies, such as H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Eventually, we sent spacecraft to investigate the Red Planet.

In 1971, Mariner 9 visited Mars and sent back images of enormous volcanoes and vast canyons. It discovered Olympus Mons, now the most famous volcano not on Earth. This massive volcano could cover the state of Missouri, and reaches 15 miles above the surface! Mariner 9 also found evidence that water once flowed on Mars. However, there were no sightings of Schiaparelli's famous canals.

In 1975, two spacecraft named Viking I and II landed on Mars to study its surface. They analyzed the rocks and soil of the planet while providing us with information about its atmosphere and weather patterns. Even today we are exploring Mars. The Mars Global Surveyor made a detailed 3-dimensional map of the planet. Unfortunately, the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander has been a big setback in our research.

Although Mars was never really discovered, its moons were! In 1877, astronomer Asaph Hall spotted the two moons and named them Phobos, which means fear, and Deimos, which means panic. They were named after the mythical horses that drew the chariot of the Roman god, Mars.

This image was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Click on image for full size (30K JPG) Courtesy of NASA

Mars is much like Venus-- it's very bright and therefore easily spotted in the night sky. Because of this, we don't know who exactly discovered Mars. We do know it was named after the Roman god of war, because its reddish color reminded people of blood.

In 1659, Christian Huygens discovered a strange feature on the surface of the Red Planet. It was later called the Syrtis Major. We have been scared of Martians ever since. In 1802, one scientist was so convinced there was life on Mars that he wanted to draw huge figures in the snow to signal the Martians!

In 1877, astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli discovered what he believed to be several lines crossing one another. He claimed they were water canals made by intelligent creatures.

In 1971, Mariner 9 visited Mars and sent back images of enormous volcanoes and vast canyons. It discovered Olympus Mons, now the most famous volcano not on Earth. This massive volcano could cover the state of Missouri, and reaches 15 miles above the surface! Mariner 9 also found evidence that water once flowed on Mars. However, there were no sightings of Schiaparelli's famous canals.

In 1975, two spacecraft named Viking I and II landed on Mars to study its surface. They analyzed the rocks and soil of the planet while providing us with information about its atmosphere and weather patterns. Even today we are exploring Mars. The Mars Global Surveyor made a map of the planet in 1997.

Although Mars was never really discovered, its moons were! In 1877, astronomer Asaph Hall spotted the two moons and named them Phobos, which means fear, and Deimos, which means panic. They were named after the mythical horses that drew the chariot of the Roman god, Mars.

This image was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Click on image for full size (30K JPG) Courtesy of NASA

Mars is a bright, red object in the sky. It is very easy to see, which means that even people that lived long ago knew it was there. So, we don't know who discovered it. We do know it was named after the Roman god of war.

A scientist named Giovanni Schiaparelli saw many long lines on Mars. He thought they were water canals made by creatures! Later we sent spacecraft to Mars to study it.

Mariner 9 was the first to orbit Mars. It took lots of pictures of volcanoes and craters. It even found Olympus Mons, a giant volcano! The Viking I and II spacecrafts landed on Mars and studied rocks and the soil. Even today the Mars Global Surveyor is mapping the planet!