Today, he is a hostile desert planet – but in the meantime is considered to be secured: a long time Ago the surface of Mars was shaped by liquid water. Thus could also have developed in organisms. Traces of these former creatures hide in the red surface, or there may still be microbes? These and other questions will soon follow new probes more accurately than ever before. The ambitious project is set to start in the summer of this year and will also serve the preparation of future manned missions to the red planet.

In the first article of the four-part title theme of the bdw-author Thorsten Dambeck reports on this exciting major project. In the center is a particularly complex Mission: "Mars Sample Return is". The space agencies NASA and ESA plan, soil samples from Mars to earth. Three space probes to win in a former river Delta on Mars. Experts call the project "Apollo without astronauts" – because, unlike in the case of the flights to the moon this time will automatically work to the end of the tricky probes endeavor do – from sampling to the shipment of the "Post" to the earth. How to make that work, the author describes.

In the article "methane, meteorites, and dust devil" is Dambeck then current knowledge and questions about the features of our neighbouring planet in focus. As he reported, are now the causes of the drying up of the red desert world. Massive dust storms apparently plays a role and, above all, losses to the All: the water molecules to rise into the upper atmosphere and disappear forever. In addition, the author of the question is: Could be the methane in the atmosphere of Mars microbes?

Then it goes to the underworld of the Red planet. What lies beneath the craters, furrowed landscapes, to uncover the "InSight" Mission. A on 26. November 2018, the Mars-level Elysium Planitia landed space probe explores the tectonic activity of the Red planet, as well as the heat flow in the soil. A Seismometer has already recorded numerous Mars-quake, reported Dambeck in this part of the article.

the title theme of a look at "tracks and speculation is of life Rounded off" to the theme on the Mars. The bdw-editor Rüdiger Vaas reported about strange structures on photos of the previous NASA Rover missions, which give rise to speculation about extraterrestrial life. On the planet could once have been microbes, algae, and fungi exists – perhaps even up to today, the author writes in the article "algae and fungi on Mars?"

All of the contributions of the center of gravity "on the move to Mars" can be found in the July issue of the image of science, the from 16. June is commercially available.

*The contribution of "Mars: The mysterious neighbor in sight" is published by Wissenschaft.de. Contact with the executives here.