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Mars (God): Planets
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Until the arrival of planetary probes, the traditional view of Mars derived from the astronomers Percival Lowell and Giovanni Schiaparelli, whose observation of supposedly linear features on the planet created the myth of canals on Mars. For many years, a standard notion of the planet as a drying, cooling, dying world with ancient civilizations constructing irrigation works. Thus originated a large number of science fiction scenarios, the best known of which is H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, in which Martians seek to escape their dying planet by invading Earth. In the movie Mars Attacks! the Martians ... invade Earth.
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On NASA's latest Mars mission, the Odyssey spacecraft, has begun its programmed mapping of the red planet, having deployed its high-gain antenna on February 5, 2001. Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have centered their interest on Mars as the most likely candidate for a manned mission. For now... they are collecting a vast amount of data with unmanned probes. NASA's website (www.mars.jpl.nasa.gov) continues to offer pictures periodically for the curious public.
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In astrology, Mars is the ruler of Aries. The sun enters the sign of Aries on March 21, the vernal equinox, and it heralds the season of spring when everything awakens, grows and sprouts after dormant winter months. Aries is the leader, the first sign around the zodiac wheel. Mars is the planet of energy, action, and of lust and passion. It is the survival instinct, and can be thought of as the animal nature of man. It is a cardinal, active, initiating sign; and its element is fire, bringing enthusiasm, chi, the spark of life.
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In early 2000, a proposed Mars flag flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Designed by NASA engineer and Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station task force leader Pascal Lee and carried aboard by astronaut John Mace Grunsfeld, the flag consists of three vertical bars (red, green, and blue), symbolizing the transformation of Mars from a barren planet (red) to one bearing sustainable life (green), and finally to a fully terraformed planet with open bodies of water. This design was suggested by the Kim Stanley Robinson sci-fi trilogy Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars. While other designs have been proposed, the republican tricolor has been adopted by the Mars Society as its own official banner. In a statement released after the launch of the mission, the Society said that the flag "has now been honored by a vessel of the leading spacefaring nation on Earth," and added that "(i)t is fitting that this action occurred when it did: at the dawning of a new millenium."
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The Great Rift Valley on Mars, with its 2,500-mile-long canyon attests to the obvious fact that the planet was in a collision with something. Also, it should noted that the Earth has a rift right down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean all the way from the North Pole to the South Pole. Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided.” This, too, could have been caused by a gravitational battle between Earth and Mars – if, as suggested, Mars traveled in an elliptical orbit and came near the Earth every 54 years, resulting in periodic, catastrophic destruction.
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Before space exploration, Mars was considered the best candidate for harboring extraterrestrial life. Astronomers thought they saw straight lines crisscrossing its surface. This led to the popular belief that irrigation canals on the planet had been constructed by intelligent beings.
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