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The fourth planet from the Sun and very often referred to as the Red Planet, Mars has been attracting human curiosity since time immemorial. The Romans named the planet "Mars" in honor of their god of war. The ancient Egyptians named it Her Descher, which means the red one. Easily visible to the naked eye in the night sky, Mars earns its nickname from the distinct reddish/pink hue of its rocks, soil and sky.

While Martians invading Earth has been a favorite of sci-fi writers, there are enough suspicions of extraterrestrial life, to lure "earthlings" away from home and explore the potential of living in other worlds. and Mars seems to be a first stop. Lets find out more about this fascinating planet of the solar system.

The Red Planet in focus

All that you need to know - the climate, weather, life and life support, news updates and lots more.

Martian Must-Knows

Mars is home to the largest volcano.the deepest canyon in the solar system.crazy weather and temperatures. Is it really a home away from home? How different is it from our planet. Read on for must-know facts about Mars.

Missions to the Red Planet

The first close-up of Mars was captured when the spacecraft Mariner flew past it on July 14, 1965. There have been umpteen missions, since, each more probing than the previous, Mars-bound. Read on to find out

What's happening in Mars?

Curious to know the latest - on present and future missions.fact sheets.best images and more? Just a click away...

Picking the crew

The endless details and preparations that go into making an expedition to Mars, possible.training and conditioning the crew, guidelines, equipment and more.

A timeline of Mars exploration

1960

Marsnik 1 (Mars 1960A) - 10 October - Attempted Mars Flyby (Launch Failure)

Marsnik 2 (Mars 1960B) - 14 October - Attempted Mars Flyby (Launch Failure)

1962

Sputnik 22 - 24 October - Attempted Mars Flyby

Mars 1 - 1 November - Mars Flyby (Contact Lost)

Sputnik 24 - 4 November - Attempted Mars Lander

1964

Mariner 3 - 5 November - Attempted Mars Flyby

Mariner 4 - 28 November - Mars Flyby

Zond 2 - 30 November - Mars Flyby (Contact Lost)

1965

Zond 3 - 18 July - Lunar Flyby, Mars Test Vehicle

1969

Mariner 6 - 25 February - Mars Flyby

Mariner 7 - 27 March - Mars Flyby 

Mars 1969A - 27 March - Attempted Mars Orbiter (Launch Failure)

Mars 1969B - 2 April - Attempted Mars Orbiter (Launch Failure)

1971

Mariner 8 - 8 May - Attempted Mars Flyby (Launch Failure)

Cosmos 419 - 10 May - Attempted Mars Orbiter/Lander

Mars 2 - 19 May - Mars Orbiter/ Attempted Lander

Mars 3 - 28 May - Mars Orbiter/ Lander

Mariner 9 - 30 May - Mars Orbiter

1973

Mars 4 - 21 July - Mars Flyby (Attempted Mars Orbiter)

Mars 5 - 25 July - Mars Orbiter

Mars 6 - 5 August - Mars Lander (Contact Lost)

Mars 7 - 9 August - Mars Flyby (Attempted Mars Lander)

1975

Viking 1 - 20 August - Mars Orbiter and Lander

Viking 2 - 9 September - Mars Orbiter and Lander

1988

Phobos 1 - 7 July - Attempted Mars Orbiter/Phobos Landers

Phobos 2 - 12 July - Mars Orbiter/Attempted Phobos Landers

1992

Mars Observer - 25 September - Attempted Mars Orbiter (Contact Lost)

1996

Mars Global Surveyor - 07 November - Mars Orbiter

Mars 96 - 16 November - Attempted Mars Orbiter/Landers

Mars Pathfinder - 04 December - Mars Lander and Rover

1998

Nozomi (Planet-B) - 3 July - Mars Orbiter

Mars Climate Orbiter - 11 December - Attempted Mars Orbiter

1999

Mars Polar Lander - 3 January - Attempted Mars Lander

Deep Space 2 (DS2) - 3 January - Attempted Mars Penetrators

2001

Mars Odyssey - 7 April - Mars Orbiter

2003

Mars Express - 2 June - Mars Orbiter and Lander

Mars Exploration Rover 1 - 6 June - Mars Rover

Mars Exploration Rover 2 - 25 June - Mars Rover

2005

Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter - July - Mars Orbiter

2007

Mars 2007 - Late 2007 - Mobile Scientific Laboratory, Small Scout Missions

Netlanders - Late 2007 - Mars Netlanders

2009

Mars 2009- Late 2009 - Possible Communications Satellite, Small Net-Landers

(Source: National Space Science Data Center - NSSDC )

The Mars Desert Research Station and other projects If you are interested in the research activities in and about Mars, these are some useful links.

http://www.marssociety.org/MDRS/mdrs01.asp

http://www.marssociety.org/arctic/fmars01.asp

http://www.marssociety.org/translife/

Life on Mars - An update 

The argument goes on.as researchers continue to debate over whether there is life or not in Mars. take for instance a meteorite, which seems to contain signs of ancient Martian life. read the article by Michael Ray Taylor.

Space-life

Read about what it takes to live in space.the lifestyles of astronauts and so on.

Plants on a mission to Mars

A combination of three highly advanced modern sciences - biotechnology, genetics and space exploration - as researchers attempt to set the stage for a colony of humans on Mars. If all goes as planned, 10 varieties of the plant could be on their way to the red planet as part of a mission scheduled by NASA for 2007. Read the full story.