Earthlings’ terrestrial imaginations have always been fired by the fourth rock from the sun. Eons ago, Romans named Mars after their god of war; more recently, H.G. Wells, Orson Welles, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Paul Verhoeven, and Tim Burton have painted frightening and funny fantasies of Martian-human contact. Thanks to pictures from the Mariner missions of the ’60s, the 1976 Viking landings, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Pathfinder mission of the ’90s, Mars: Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet lets us see the stuff the planet is really made of. But while the images are out of this world, the most revealing information here is what apparently serves as the true source for scientific inspiration: Mars may be lifeless, but what’s not to like about a place with rocks named Calvin and Hobbs? A
Related Articles
![Osha Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg) on 'The Acolyte'](https://ew.com/thmb/D0bA4bWbEErVK0CAVHqUYgIuu_4=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/acolyte-6-071624-55cdc7af8bf34a38b11b1a5f87a5e7c4.jpg)
The Acolyte finale ending and cameos explained
![Chet Hanks and Tyler Posey in MTV's 'Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets'](https://ew.com/thmb/M2PNBWN349ulO5hJzvbkUZ8zWAc=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Chet-Hanks-Tyler-Posey-MTV-Surreal-Life-Villa-of-Secrets-071224-02d34505753547aa859ba67706897feb.jpg)
Watch the first 8 minutes of Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets
![Scene from Outlander](https://ew.com/thmb/Z__fWpRW7HkyoBipBzCP6-riMPQ=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/outlander-1-071624-ee4532fb10b54e628a9d27602a474d10.jpg)
Slàinte! Mix Outlander cocktails and test your knowledge with exclusive look at new recipe book and trivia game
![Rebecca Ferguson in Silo](https://ew.com/thmb/okwsLvT5i6Phu4aob0RdjpoPL74=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/CCSIP-Silo-DI-FRAME_2-8430bbbcea0a4500babfae338af72c8c.png)
Silo boss reveals season 2 gets 'really scary' with a failed rebellion and 'dead silo'
![Karl Urban as Billy Butcher on 'The Boys'.](https://ew.com/thmb/JFRrXNPE5AK78qCZimXo5L5Cftc=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/karl-urban-the-boys-63ec21d581b24a17a15ad03041c9aade.jpg)
The Boys recap: Butcher plots his endgame
![The Perfect Couple. Nicole Kidman as Greer Winbury in episode 106 of The Perfect Couple](https://ew.com/thmb/QMpSoNmLneeyo_OEOTZQ2WXgq-k=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Nicole-Kidman-071124-9860139aa60e429bb626310e1bdc750a.jpg)
Nicole Kidman is a woman with money (and secrets) in first Perfect Couple trailer
![Yord Fandar (Charlie Barnett), Jedi Padawan Jecki Lonà(Dafne Keen) and Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) on 'The Acolyte'](https://ew.com/thmb/TB0tDysuk6I-0ifB7LBHTga1Zfc=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/The-Acolyte-1-05302024-5b628882c75648c2af946eafb8c69777.jpg)
The Acolyte creator reacts to 'powerful, menacing' cliffhanger
![Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America in Marvel Studios' CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD](https://ew.com/thmb/26C7GzE8d0TH6iRPppZmbiD_jp4=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/captain-america-1-070924-67a4e8f3dfc9414a9a5f7b1bdf1a42b7.jpg)
Captain America: Brave New World trailer reveals Red Hulk, first look at Giancarlo Esposito
![Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina in 'Borderlands'](https://ew.com/thmb/sF4uy2dMZo5J_iV5oWoHIcKCs3g=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/CCSIP-Ariana-Greenblatt-DI-V2_1-8636c6927d81473fbb975fdd614297fb.png)
Breaking Big: Ariana Greenblatt talks first movie role in Avengers, life after Barbie, and Borderlands (exclusive)
![Sumer Movie Preview 2024 collage of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool; Glen Powell in Hitman; Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys; Anya Taylor-Joy in Furiosa](https://ew.com/thmb/ZkCBAi8t8vYuPI-nbIRbnXdNO-k=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Asset34-f328a330758241d6b3c916256ed20263.jpg)
Your guide to summer movies 2024: From Furiosa to Bad Boys 4
![Matt Smith from House of the Dragon](https://ew.com/thmb/GSH02GIZc8TNu8pNrRwnzLSS29Q=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/hotd-2-070124-480838f225564a5ebf4c040965aa68c3.jpg)
How House of the Dragon kept that surprise Harrenhal cameo a secret
![Still from House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3](https://ew.com/thmb/kRh62lFxaIsRS6EpLPFFCl6mGDs=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/hotd-5-062724-e74452eec93d4115810c7b148eef328c.jpg)
House of the Dragon recap: Rhaenyra has a secret rendezvous
![DescendantsRiseOfRed; Kiki Layne in Dandelion; Colman Domingo in Sing Sing](https://ew.com/thmb/IXBZiX7rEVoYpcyGmNyNYa8bu-0=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Must-List-July13-56ba41ccf0c446ef993cb372b97c172b.jpg)
Colman Domingo's Sing Sing, Disney Channel's new Descendants film, and Dandelion top this week's Must List
![Canadian-US actor Ryan Reynolds (L) and Australian actor Hugh Jackman, pose with UK's Ugliest Dog Winner Dogpool on the red carpet upon arrival to attend the UK sneak peek event for "Deadpool & Wolverine", at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, west London on July 11, 2024](https://ew.com/thmb/4jqhhA4i_Isg-E91cmVdflsRIGo=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/ryan-reynolds-peggy-uk-ugliest-dog-tout-071224-cebb1fd25c2348d7971b79502f1ab605.jpg)
Dogpool gets its day at London premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine: 'She's a 10 in our hearts'
![Lance Armstrong for 'Stars on Mars'](https://ew.com/thmb/Z-YhjJ3Mm5N6KzFDNN-ylPKyIq8=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Lance-Armstrong-for-Stars-on-Mars-f3f8b0cefc4e43b38e39125c48f2ae88.jpg)
Lance Armstrong quits Stars on Mars: 'I'm not a social person'
![Antony Starr in The Boys](https://ew.com/thmb/i03dOmsue55WKCdK7kvSoT0T7gI=/282x188/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/boys-071624-6862287068074780ba09708255f7d1ea.jpg)
The Boys finale recap: The dawn of a new America