The ancient Romans named Mars after their bloody god of war, which is appropriate since our iron rich neighbor has since been dubbed “The Red Planet”. Grandiose ideas and theories have always been synonymous with celestial objects. Humans have used these ideas to fuel our motivation to explore space and figure out the inner workings of our universe. The exploration of Mars has long been a topic interesting to the residents of Earth. With our research we will be diving into the exploration of The Red Planet discussing early ideas, theories, and pioneers of research into Mars, our past missions and accomplishments of exploring/probing Mars, as well as our future itinerary for Martian exploration. In early civilizations people’s understanding …show more content…
The European Space Agency, NASA’s European counterpart, has plans for Mars exploration with their ExoMars mission. The mission consists of two parts: a Lander and Orbiter in 2016, and a rover in 2018. While the 2016 mission is similar to other missions the ESA has completed, the 2018 rover is the first non-US rover. The ESA plans to launch its first mission to Mars in January of 2016, the payload, consisting of an Orbiter and Lander will be launched on a “Proton” rocket, and plans to be en route for a very short amount of time due to positioning of the Earth and Mars. The Lander, named the “Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Model” or “EDM” will be used as a test for future ESA lander missions, hopefully providing a means of controlled landing and touchdown velocity for future missions. The EDM will be using technology that is still in development by the ESA for its descent, including “special material for thermal protection, a parachute system, a radar Doppler altimeter system, and a final braking system controlled by liquid propulsion (ESA).” It will be operating for a short time, utilizing a very limited suite of scientific instruments with only its excess battery power to keep it running. It is planned to be shut down in December of