Life on Mars life were found. Mariner 4 probe performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the Martian surface in 1965. The photographs showed an arid Mars without rivers, oceans, or any signs of life. Further, it revealed that the surface (at least the parts that it photographed) was covered in craters, indicating a lack of plate tectonics and weathering of any kind for the last 4 billion years. The probe also found that Mars has no global magnetic field that would protect the planet from potentially life-threatening cosmic rays. The probe was able to calculate
Space probe on another planet (Venus) and to transmit data from there back to Earth. Upon its arrival at Mars on November 13, 1971, Mariner 9 became the first space probe to maintain orbit around another planet. First soft landing on Mars (December 2, 1971) The lander began transmitting to the Mars 3 orbiter 90 seconds after landing. After 20 seconds, transmission stopped for unknown reasons. First successful rover on Mars. The Mars Exploration Rovers, "Spirit" and "Opportunity" landed on Mars to explore the Martian surface and geology, and searched for clues to past water activity on Mars. They were each launched