Mars in fiction the past; Mars is a setting rather than a goal. Mariner 4 in July 1965 found that Mars—contrary to expectations—is heavily cratered, with a very thin atmosphere. No canals were found; while scientists did not believe that Mars was a moist planet, the lack of surface water surprised them. Science fiction had so influenced real explorations of the planet, however—Carl Sagan was among the many fans who became scientists—that after Mariner 9 in 1971-1972, craters were named after Wells, Burroughs, and other authors. The Mariner and Viking space probes confirmed that the Martian environment is extremely hostile to life. By
The Probe The Probe "The Probe" was the final episode of the original "The Outer Limits" television show. It first broadcast on 16 January 1965, during the second season. En route to Tokyo, a plane flies into a storm and the pilot is forced to ditch the plane into the eye of a hurricane. The crew and passengers awake on a life boat and soon discover that they have been captured by an alien space probe. The final episode of "The Outer Limits" deals with four plane crash survivors who suddenly find themselves trapped in an alien space probe that was taking