Mars - the Red Planet - captures our imagination like no other planet in the Solar system. Despite its current appearance as a rusty, cold and dry desert we know from recent findings of space probes that Mars and Earth were quite similar in their early years. Mars is about half as large as Earth and orbits the Sun in about two Earth years. Length of day - however - is comparable to Earth and two tiny moons - Phobos and Deimos - shine in the reddish Martian night sky. Its surface is exposed to radiation since it has lost its protective global magnetic field several billion years ago. Its thin atmosphere consists mostly of CO₂ and the predominantly low temperatures lead to the formation of extended seasonal CO₂ ("dry ice") polar caps. These - however - surround the "true treasures" of Mars: small water ice polar caps. Visible signs of a time when Mars and Earth resembled each other closely : dense atmospheres, protected by a global magnetic field and warm enough to allow liquid water in lakes, rivers and oceans. Therefore Mars is the prime candidate for possible primitive extraterrestrial life - extinct fossil life or maybe even extant life in sheltered habitats. A whole fleet of spacecraft explored and explores the Red Planet - most of them with Austrian participation. They gather data from orbit about the atmosphere, chemical composition and amount & location of water (Mars Express). Landers touch down on the surface and search for water and life in-situ (Exomars). In the near future sample return missions will bring back soil from the Red Planet to Earth and manned missions within the next decades are likely.

Further information on Mars is found at The Nine Planets.