A history of Mars exploration: a look back at international efforts to study the Red Planet – The National

A history of Mars exploration: a look back at international efforts to study the Red Planet – The National

Mariner 4, launched by Nasa, was on a dramatic two day flyby of the Red Planet, the first time Earth had successfully visited Mars.. Some 55 years ago, mankind had long speculated about the fourth planet from the Sun.. The UAE's Hope mission, which coincidentally is due to lift-off on the same day that Mariner 4 first arrived, will take the number of attempts to reach Mars to nearly 60.. Mariner 4, Nasa's first attempt to reach Mars, was one of a pair of probes sent towards the Red Planet.. Mariner 8 failed to even to leave Earth orbit in 1971.. The Soviet Union suffered four more launch explosions before successfully placing Mars 2 in orbit in May 1971, although its lander crashed.. The European Space Agency's Schiaparelli landeralso failed to put on the brakes when attempting a landing in 2016, leaving nothing but a black smudge on the planet's surface.. China attempted to reach Mars for the first time in 2011, travelling with a Russian lander that was intended to come back with samples of Martian soil.. The Yinghou-1 probe was lost when the Russian craft failed to make it out of Earth orbit, leaving both to burn up