Mars has always held a special fascination for humanity. Its reddish color in the night sky has strong associations with war and destruction, while astronomers have long speculated on the possibility that life might exist there, either now, or at some time in the past. Viewed from Earth-based telescopes, its features have prompted all manner of speculation about the planet and what humans might encounter there.
Both the Soviet Union and the United States made Mars an early target for exploration in the Cold War space race of the 1960s. While the Soviets reached Mars first, in June 1963, they gained little scientific return for their achievement. The first American probe to flyby Mars took photographs that showed a cratered, moon-like surface, dashing the hopes of many that intelligent life might be present there. Subsequent missions focused on finding water, a key requirement of life on Earth, as a possible indicator that simple life might have evolved on the planet.
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