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
Space probe Transport Network. First man-made object to soft land on the Moon, or any other extra terrestrial surface. First mission to photograph the far side of the Moon, launched in 1959. First robotic sample return probe from the Moon. First rover on Moon. It was sent to the Moon on November 10, 1970. First probe to Mercury. First successful in-place analysis of another planet. It may have also been the first space probe to impact the surface of another planet, although it is unclear whether it reached Venus' surface. The Venera 7 probe was the first spacecraft to successfully soft land