The Rationale for Exploring Mars . ... The human exploration of Mars will be an enterprise that confirms the potential for humans to leave their home planet and make their way outward into the cosmos. ... For the first time in a space exploration mission, it will be up to the crew to solve their own emergency problems. ... As the capability for space exploration grew in the 1960's, it became clear that Mars is not, like Earth, a planet teeming with life, and is now a hostile environment for humans. ...

... Organizing Committee and Forum Addreses . Forum Schedule . ... L.Zelenyi, E.Galimov, G.Polischuk, E.Akim, A.Zakharov, Phobos Sample Return Mission . Gaylon McSmith, Mars: The Adventure of Exploring the Red Planet . T. Duxbury, Global Mapping of Mars: a Historical Perspective . ... A.-M. Harri, V.M. Linkin, MET NET Mars Mission . ... Pierre Drossart, A new face of Venus from Venus Express/VIRTIS observations . ... Eric Chassefiere, Toward an International Venus Exploration Program . ...

... This realization, in the years after World War II, turned the military into a major supporter of rocket development, especially in the US and in the USSR, the Soviet Union (now the Russian republic and its allies). ... launched the Sputniks. ... Today all space launches employ clamps to hold the rocket down during those seconds, until full thrust is achieved; if you ever watch the countdown of a spaceflight launch, you might note that "ignition" comes a short instant before "lift-off. ...

Cosmic Research, Vol. 42, No. 5, 2004, pp. 435­488. Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 42, No. 5, 2004, pp. 453­508. Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Veselovsky, Panasyuk, Avdyushin, Bazilevskaya, Belov, Bogachev, Bogod, Bogomolov, Bothmer, Boyarchuk, Vashenyuk, Vlasov, Gnezdilov, Gorgutsa, Grechnev, Denisov, Dmitriev, Dryer, Yermolaev, Eroshenko, Zherebtsov, Zhitnik, Zhukov, Zastenker, Zelenyi, Zeldovich, Ivanov-Kholodnyi, Ignat'ev, Ishkov, Kolomiytsev, Krasheninnikov, Kudela,