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
Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars survey the Mysterons' planet, Mars, with a space probe is threatened when a scientist attached to the project is killed and duplicated by the Mysterons ("Shadow of Fear"). After the Lunar Controller boldly declares the Moon's independence from Earth in its fight against the Mysterons, Captains Scarlet, Blue and Lieutenant Green are dispatched to the colony Lunarville 7 to investigate reports of an unidentified complex being built on the far side of the Moon ("Lunarville 7"). After reporting back to Cloudbase, Scarlet, Blue and Green return to the Moon to remove the power source from the Mysteron complex in Crater