Mars: Viking to SkyFall

Mars, the Red Planet. The subject of numerous novels, well into the thousands, and movies well into the hundreds and counting. Most people could probably name at least one Mars novel or movie. One of the more famous classic movies, War of the Worlds, was released in 1953 and inspired by the H.G. Wells book, War of the Worlds, published in 1898. The classic wasn't about Mars per se; it went further, centering on a Martian invasion of Earth. An interesting illustration of fascination with and how little we knew about Mars in recent history. Given the historical obsession with Mars, it's no surprise the planet has more robots in orbit and rovers circumnavigating the surface than any other planet in our solar system.

Forty-eight dedicated spacecraft launch campaigns have focused on Mars. Spacecraft flybys, orbiters, rovers, and the first powered rotary-wing flight on another planet. Fifty years ago, Viking 1 and Viking 2 landed on Mars in 1976, marking the first successful spacecraft landings on the Martian surface. Their orbiters circled Mars over 200 times, delivering stunning images of the Red Planet's surface.

Viking Orbiters captured multiple images resulting in this Red Planet mosaic. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's present Mars fleet includes two orbiters, two rovers, and the latest additions, the ESCAPADE mission's twin orbiters, Blue and Gold, which were launched in November 2025 and are expected to reach Mars in 2027. The Blue and Gold orbiters will explore critical questions surrounding the evolution of Mars' magnetic field and atmosphere.

Blue Origin's New Glenn launches NASA's ESCAPADE Mission to Mars. Credit Spacepoint/John Winkopp

ESCAPADE will be followed by the recently announced Mars SkyFall missions. These NASA missions build upon the first powered rotary-wing robot on Mars, Ingenuity. SkyFall will deliver multiple comparatively low-cost rotary-wing aircraft to Mars cataloging subsurface water ice and conduct reconnaissance for future human spaceflight landing zones.

Mars has always fascinated young and old, but why?

Watch this clip to hear some of the biggest questions surrounding Mars from Dr. Ben Weiss, Chair, Program in Planetary Science at MIT, and co-investigator on NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Mission.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/9a9de1_79740c9f218e4db0a96851465f892500/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

You can watch Ben's full discussion here > https://www.spacepoint.org/planetaryscience