Life on Mars If the surface life has been reanimated as recently as 450,000 years ago, then rovers on Mars could find dormant but still viable life at a depth of one meter below the surface, according to an estimate. In 1965, the Mariner 4 probe discovered that Mars had no global magnetic field that would protect the planet from potentially life-threatening cosmic radiation and solar radiation; observations made in the late 1990s by the Mars Global Surveyor confirmed this discovery. Scientists speculate that the lack of magnetic shielding helped the solar wind blow away much of Mars's atmosphere over the course of
Mars Terahertz Microsatellite landing the instrument on the surface. The probe is being developed by Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), and the University of Tokyo Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory (ISSL).The project is based on a past proposal named FIRE (Far InfraRed Experiment), which was a sensor intended for JAXA's cancelled MELOS Mars orbiter. ISSL has previously developed two deep space probes: the PROCYON asteroid probe and the EQUULEUS CubeSat mission to Earth–Moon L Lagrangian point. NICT will put into use their experience developing the SMILES (Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder) instrument on board the ISS Kibo module, and SWI (Sub-millimeter