Mars

From past to present, Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest look at views of our nearest planetary neighbour and how our knowledge of it has grown. They explore the old myths associated with Mars and the perennial fears of Martian invasions, taking the story fully up-to-date to show what we now know about the planet in the aftermath of the 1996 meteorite that may provide evidence for life, and from the recent probes. Finally, they assess whether Mars could form a crucial stopping point for further exploration.