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Article: Mars Missions
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- Space Sciences
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Mars Missions
Mars has attracted human interest throughout history.
The War of the Worlds
(1898) by H. G. Wells, about an advanced Martian civilization that came to attack Earth, was inspired by the work of the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, who observed
canali
(channels) on Mars. (The Italian word
canali
was mistranslated as "canals.") This led to interest in the possibility of intelligent life on Mars.
Although it is now known that there is no intelligent life on Mars, planning for exploration of the Red Planet is at an all-time high. The question of whether simple life ever arose on Mars is a strong motivation for exploration. Other questions include how the Martian climate ...