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# Slightly different articles on Mars and missions to it
- URL: https://jatan.space/mars-articles/
- Published: 2026-07-16T13:29:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-16T13:29:29.000Z
- Author: Jatan Mehta
- Tags: Explore

I’m very much a [Moon person](https://jatan.space/tag/moon-monday) but I’ve written a bit about Mars over the years as well, highlighting a few key aspects about the red planet’s exploration which I thought aren’t discussed as much or in detail.

## NASA explores Mars

![](https://jatan.space/content/images/2026/07/mars-rovers-comparison.jpg)

A comparison of three generations of NASA Mars rovers. These are flight-spares inside NASA JPL's [Mars Yard](https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/twin-of-nasas-perseverance-mars-rover-begins-terrain-tests/) testing area. The Sojourner rover’s twin is front and center, a Mars Exploration Rover spare is on the left, and the Curiosity twin is on the right. [Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech](https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image%5Ffeature%5F2154.html)

- [**Looking back at Pathfinder as the start of modern Mars exploration**](https://jatan.space/nasa-mars-pathfinder-mission/)
- [**How NASA decides where to land on Mars**](https://jatan.space/how-nasa-choses-mars-landing-sites/)
  - [How NASA defines “Special Regions” for Mars missions](https://jatan.space/how-nasa-defines-special-regions-for-mars-missions/)
- [NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft revealed how Mars lost its atmosphere and water](https://jatan.space/nasa-maven-mars-orbiter/)
- [Interviewing Tory Bruno on leading the company that has launched every NASA mission to Mars](https://jatan.space/interviewing-tory-bruno-ceo-ula/)

## India reaches the Red Planet

![](https://jatan.space/content/images/2026/07/01-olympus-mons-tharsis-monetes-valles-marineris.jpg)

Global view of Mars from the Mangalyaan spacecraft, captured on October 4, 2014\. [Image: ISRO / Emily Lakdawalla](https://www.planetary.org/space-images/global-view-of-mars-from-mom-tharsis)

- [**Reviewing Mangalyaan, India’s first Mars mission**](https://jatan.space/reviewing-mission-mangalyaan/)
- [**India’s Mars orbiter completes six years at the red planet, but where is the science?**](https://jatan.space/missing-science-from-mangalyaan/)
  - [Debate: Mangalyaan’s low science output still reflects on ISRO](https://jatan.space/debate-missing-science-from-mangalyaan-still-reflects-on-isro/)
  - [Mangalyaan spacecraft terminated—it was never a science mission](https://jatan.space/how-to-honor-mangalyaan/)
- [**My article on Mangalyaan was rejected 8 times but I published it anyway**](https://jatan.space/story-behind-that-mangalyaan-article/)
- [Views of Mars from India's Mangalyaan orbiter](https://jatan.space/views-of-mars-from-mangalyaan/)
- [Book review: Those magnificent women and their stories that must be told](https://jatan.space/book-review-those-magnificent-women-and-their-stories/)

## Looking ahead

![](https://jatan.space/content/images/2026/07/mars-north-pole-esa-mars-express.jpg)

The north polar region of Mars imaged by ESA’s Mars Express orbiter. [Image: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / J. Cowart](https://www.planetary.org/space-images/20190128%5Fborealis-planitia-mars-express)

- [Japan wants to sample Mars’ moon Phobos with its MMX mission](https://jatan.space/japan-mmx-mars-moons-sample-return/)
- [ExoMars: A European mission to find signs of life on Mars](https://jatan.space/exomars-2022-esa-rover/)
- [Experiments at the International Space Station that paved the way to living on Mars and beyond](https://jatan.space/iss-experiments-living-on-mars-and-beyond/)
- [**Can we make Mars Earth-like?**](https://jatan.space/can-we-make-mars-earth-like/)

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**Related:** [*Articles on Venus*](https://jatan.space/venus-articles/)

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