Missions to Mars

Missions to Mars is a vivid insider account of some of NASA's most vital and exciting missions to the Red Planet, illustrated with full-color photographs. Human exploration of Mars is the most ambitious and exciting scientific goal of the twenty-first century. Few people know as much about this fascinating planet as Dr. Larry Crumpler. As one of the long-term planning leads for the Mars Exploration Rover Project, he helped control the daily communications between NASA and the rovers roaming the planet to gather scientific data. Thanks to the Rover Project, we now know that the dry, red dust of the planet's surface hides a wet, possibly living history, and that conditions were present for the evolution of complex, organic life. In this magnificent compendium, Dr. Crumpler recounts the history of the Red Planet, from the earliest days when ancient astronomers turned their eyes to the heavens to the breakthrough discoveries being unearthed by modern technology today, including some of the first images from the rover Perseverance. Paired with stunning photographs taken by rovers and NASA satellites, this magnificent "biography" of the red planet allows us to understand and experience it as never before. When the Spirit and Opportunity Rovers landed on Mars in January 2004, scientists expected them to function for nintey days. But those three months turned into fifteen years. With data gathered, Dr. Crumpler and his fellow team members were able to reconstruct the planet's stunning geological past, when it was once inundated with water, and perhaps could have supported microbial life. Exploring fundamental questions about this remarkable planet, Missions to Mars illuminates Mars' significance in the solar system-and the human imagination.