FIRST it was 1985. That was the year Wernher von Braun, the German engineer who led the Saturn V rocket programme that helped put men on the moon, believed humans would first reach Mars. Ronald Reagan thought it would be 2010. George Bush senior plumped for 2020. Now his son is setting his sights on the Red Planet too, though wisely he has avoided naming a date. NASA might never have had the chance to send a human to Mars, but it hasn’t been short of opportunities to plan.
The vivid images of the Martian surface beamed back by NASA’s…
![Small dome in the Compton-Belkovich region (61.33 ?N, 99.68 ?E). Evidence indicates a volcanic origin for this and other intriguing features in the region. Incidence angle is 64?, Sun is from the SSW, image is ~510 m across. NAC image number M139238146L [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].](https://images.newscientistbeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/07172644/SEI_163208069.jpg)
