A broad, flat plain in the northern lowlands of Mars, chosen as the Ares III landing site for its smooth, open terrain....

The third crewed NASA mission to Mars, in which a small team lands to live and work on the surface for a planned stay be...

A sealed, pressurised spacesuit worn for any activity outside the Hab. It supplies oxygen, regulates temperature and shi...

The pressurised surface habitat for the Ares III crew - a canvas-and-frame dome holding living quarters, equipment and l...

The rocket that lifts a surface crew off Mars to meet their orbiting ship. It is landed ahead of the astronauts and slow...

The lander that carries a crew down from orbit to the Martian surface at the start of a mission....

A life-support machine in the Hab that produces breathable oxygen by splitting carbon dioxide, keeping the air supply re...

An earlier uncrewed NASA Mars lander (with its small Sojourner rover), sent decades before the Ares missions and long si...

A radioisotope thermoelectric generator: a sealed unit that makes steady heat and electricity from decaying radioactive ...

The loose, dusty, rocky soil covering the surface of Mars. It is fine, dry and lifeless, with none of the organic materi...

A solar day on Mars, used as the basic unit of time throughout the mission. A sol runs slightly longer than an Earth day...

A life-support machine that recycles waste water back into clean, drinkable water for the crew....