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The space exploration of Mars began in 1965 with the Mariner 4. The Mariner 4 took the first close-up images of the Martian surface. There were twenty-two total images taken as it flew by the planet. This found a cratered world and an atmosphere much thinner than was originally thought existed. From these images, scientists concluded that Mars was a "dead" world in both the geological and biological sense.
Although the Mariner 4 was the first real look at Mars, it was not the first attempt. The Mariner 3, was launched on November 5th, 1964, was lost when "its protective shroud failed to eject as the craft was placed into interplanetary space." Because of this it was not allowed to receive energy though its solar panels from the sun and soon died when its batteries ran out. The Mariner 3 was planned for a Mars flyby with the Mariner 4 but instead is now in a solar orbit.
In 1971 the Mariner 9 was launched and became the first craft to orbit Mars. The Mariner 9 was the sister probe to the Mariner 8, which did not launch do to launching problems. This probe returned information on Mars that no other probe ever had done before. It reveled images that showed huge volcanoes on the Red Planets surface, along with giant canyon systems. As well as all this information it also reveled that at one time water flowed across the planet. This probe also gave the first close up and detailed look at Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos. This was by far the most informational and beneficial probe up until this time. The Mariner 9 showed evidence of things about Mars that many people believed could never be possible.
On August 20th, 1975, in Cape Canaveral, Florida Viking 1 was launched on a TITAN 3E-CENTAUR D1 rocket. This probe was programmed to land on Mars and search for microorganisms and to send back images of its surroundings. On June 19th, 1976, the probe entered Martian orbit, and on July 20th, 1976, the lander set down on the western slopes of Chryse Planitia. Scientists soon learned that Mars had a pink sky due to the sunlight reflecting off the red dust particles in the thin atmosphere. The lander set down amongst red sand and boulders that stretched as far as its cameras could image
As advancing technology pushed mankind into the 20th century, NASA decided that it as time to start looking to other planets for possible habitation. The first of the Observers' series of planetary missions, was the Mars Observer. The primary science objective of the Mars Observer was to: (1) determine the global elemental and mineralogical character of the surface material; (2) define globally the topography and gravitational field; (3) establish the nature of the Martian magnetic field; (4) determine the temporal and spatial distribution, abundance, sources, and sinks of volatiles and dust over a seasonal cycle; and, (5) explore the structure and circulation of the atmosphere. But three days before the satellite was in Mars orbit contact was lost and has never been reestablished.
The Russians attempted an exploration of their own in 1996, otherwise known as the Mars 96 spacecraft. After being launched into Earth's orbits the spacecraft was to achieve the trajectory required to leave Earth's atmosphere. This trajectory was never achieved and the spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere and crashed in pieces in a 320 km by 80 km area. The actual cause of the crash is unknown, even though there is speculation of faulty workmanship.
In response to losing the Mars Observer, the US decided to build a cheap and easily made craft named the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) in 1996. It was designed to meet all of the Mars Observers' objectives but at a cheaper cost to NASA. The mission was to orbit Mars in a nearly circular orbit mapping the entire planet every seven days. The only problem was the satellite had problems with a solar panel support, and the mission was delayed one year before the plan was to be enacted. Data from the satellite will be taken for about two Earth years. Also, the US and other countries will use MGS as a relay station for exploration of Mars.