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Missions to Mars: Remembrance of Probes Past

On August 6th 2012, NASA’s staff had legitimate cause for celebration. The Curiosity Rover, the largest and most high-tech rover ever destined for Mars, landed on the planet successfully. While the landing process was understood to be extremely complex, the landing unfolded as planned. The result is that a car-sized robot was able to deliver numerous scientific tools to the surface of another planet – an undeniably impressive feat. This success of this mission to mars was never a given, especially when considered in the light of 26 out of 41 failed missions to mars. In order to better appreciate the success of what the NASA team have accomplished with the successful landing of the Curiosity Rover, we take a closer look at some of the failed experiments of the past few decades…

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