Before his death in 1996, noted astronomer Dr. Carl Sagan recorded a message to future explorers of Mars from his home in Ithaca, N.Y. In the quiet college town, far removed from the red planet, Sagan considered the possible reasons that would compel humankind to finally make its way to the neighboring orb, from necessity to innate human curiosity. But in the end, that didn't matter to him, because, as he said in his message: "… whatever the reason you're on Mars, I'm glad you're there. And I wish I was there with you."
Nearly 20 years later, Sagan's message still doesn't have an intended recipient. But we may be getting closer. Numerous rovers continue to prowl the surface of Mars, adding their data to the information gathered by satellites orbiting the planet. National programs in the United States, Europe and India all have Mars objectives. Private operations, including SpaceX and Mars One, intend to deploy manned missions to the fourth planet from the sun in just over a decade. NASA has set the 2030s as the target date for its own manned mission. And in the meantime, more revelations come to light.
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