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
Evidence of water on Mars from Mars Odyssey Evidence of water on Mars from Mars Odyssey Evidence of water on Mars from Mars Odyssey is about observations by a Mars orbiter, named 2001 Mars Odyssey, supporting evidence for water on that planet. Mars Odyssey found much evidence for water on Mars in the form of pictures and with a spectrometer it proved that much of the ground is loaded with ice. In July 2003, at a conference in California, it was announced that the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) on board the Mars Odyssey had discovered huge amounts of water over vast areas of Mars. Mars has enough ice