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
Space probe Entered orbit around dwarf planet Ceres in early 2015. Currently orbiting Ceres as of February 2017. First probe to Jupiter without atomic batteries, launched August 8, 2011. Chang'e 2 was deployed to orbit the Moon, visit Sun–Earth L2 Lagrangian point, and make a flyby of asteroid 4179 Toutatis. Along with "Pioneer 10", "Pioneer 11", and its sister space probe "Voyager 2", "Voyager 1" is now an interstellar probe. "Voyager 1" and "2" have both achieved solar escape velocity, meaning that their trajectories will not return them to the Solar System. Examples of space probe imaging telescope/cameras (focused on visible spectrum).