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
Music in space Nick Mason, who made an audio recording of the event for potential use in a future project. This was claimed by Gilmour to have been the first rock music recording in space. The tape was left on Mir when the mission crew returned to Earth. In 2003 the British space organization's "Beagle 2" probe was scheduled to play a song from the UK music band Blur, upon touchdown on the planet Mars. It was not known what happened to "Beagle 2" for 11 years after landing, and it was considered lost. When it was found intact in 2015, however, the