Avalanche in the northern polar region of Mars. On the left the avalanche creates a 180-foot-high dust cloud after falling nearly 2,000 feet from the scarp edge. To the right, black markings on frozen dunes give indications of a partial defrost. Photographed from an altitude of about 200 miles, the clarity of this view gives a clear indication of the spacecraft telescope’s power. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Jan. 27, 2010

The exploration of Mars has spanned hundreds of years, starting with the invention of the telescope in the 1600s. It's difficult to comprehend what it takes to launch something into space, let alone sending a probe on a 154-million mile trek to capture information and images of another planet. From the first images of the surface of the red planet in the 1960s to the images from the Mars Curiosity rover, see highlights from the most successful missions that have shaped our understanding of the planet and its environment. Here, Valles Marineris and the south pole have a hazy appearance due to a dust storm three weeks before this photo was taken.

A shadow is cast on the surface of Mars from the Curiosity rover in one of the first images taken after the rover landed on Aug. 5, 2012. It was taken through a "fisheye" wide-angle lens on one of the rover's Hazard-Avoidance cameras. These engineering cameras are located at the rover's base. The Mars science rover Curiosity landed on the Martian surface shortly after 10:30 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday to begin its two-year mission seeking evidence the Red Planet once hosted ingredients for life.

This image from the right Mast Camera (Mastcam) of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a scoop full of sand and dust lifted by the rover's first use of the scoop on its robotic arm. In the foreground, near the bottom of the image, a bright object is visible on the ground. NASA says it is likely a piece of plastic from the Curiosity rover. Oct. 8, 2012.

Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity members raise their arms celebrate the landing of Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012.

An image taken through the wide-angle lens on one of the rover's Hazard-Avoidance cameras shows the terrain of Mars the rover now knows as home. These engineering cameras are located at the rover's base. These early images are lower resolution; larger color images are expected soon when the rover's mast, carrying high-resolution cameras, is deployed.

An image taken through the wide-angle lens on one of the rover's Hazard-Avoidance cameras shows the terrain of Mars the rover now knows as home. These engineering cameras are located at the rover's base. These early images are lower resolution; larger color images are expected soon when the rover's mast, carrying high-resolution cameras, is deployed.

The Mars Pathfinder rover uses its alpha proton X-ray spectrometer to analyze the Yogi Rock on the surface of Mars

A view of Mars taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit

An artist's impression of Mars One's planned first settlement on the Red Planet

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is pictured in a handout self-portrait, Feb. 3, 2013.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity is pictured in a handout self-portrait, Feb. 3, 2013.

Curiosity will carry the most advanced payload of scientific gear ever used on Mars' surface, a payload more than 10 times as massive as those of earlier Mars rovers. Its assignment: investigate whether conditions have been favorable for microbial life and for preserving clues in the rocks about possible past life. Here, members of the Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity team test an engineering model of the Curiosity rover in the Dumont Dunes near Baker, Calif., on May 10, 2012.

A new human colony on Mars?

One of the first images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars on the evening of August 5, 2012 and transmitted to Spaceflight Operations Facility for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

NASA's Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to capture this set of 55 high-resolution images, which were stitched together to create this full-color self-portrait on Oct. 31, 2012.

Mars,South Polar Region, from 24 Viking Orbiter images,1977

The Mars rover Curiosity, photographed at its testing facility Jet Propulsion Labs in Pasadena, California

A rocket carrying NASA's Mars-bound Curiosity rover lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Nov. 26, 2011

Thomas Mars of Phoenix performs in concert at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2010 in New York City.

Planet Mars

The Mars lander Phoenix.

Surface of Mars taken from Viking I

This image released by NASA shows the Curiosity rover holding a scoop of powdered rock on Mars.

This image released by NASA shows the Curiosity rover holding a scoop of powdered rock on Mars.

A demonstrator waves a flag on the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, to protest France's planned legalisation of same-sex marriage, on Jan. 13, 2013 .

A European Space Agency handout image shows a visualisation of Mars, created from spacecraft imagery.

This computer generated view depicts part of Mars at the boundary between darkness and daylight, with an area including Gail Crater beginning to catch morning light.

This computer generated view depicts part of Mars at the boundary between darkness and daylight, with an area including Gail Crater beginning to catch morning light.

This set of NASA handout images compares the Link outcrop of rocks on Mars (L) with similar rocks seen on Earth (R).

View of a mineral vein on Mars, taken by the Opportunity rover

A photo of the crater Endeavour's west rim from NASA's Mars rover Opportunity

A stretch of Martian landscape seen from the Phoenix Mars Lander

A combination image made with 3-D modeling illustrates possible evidence of liquid water active on Mars today.

Junon Brutus speaks at a prayer rally on the Champ Mars on February 12.

The Phoenix lander on the arctic plains of Mars

A stretch of Martian landscape seen from the Phoenix Mars Lander

A view of Victoria Crater seen from the Mars Orbiter.

Even though Mercury is about 75% the diameter of Mars, it has about the same gravity

Scientists say that asteroid 2007 WD5 has a 1 in 75 chance of striking the planet Mars

The giant asteroid Vesta is shown here as the smallest body among other similar bodies in the solar system: Mars, Mercury, Earth's moon and the dwarf planet Ceres.

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton shake hands with earthquake survivors during a visit to Champ de Mars near the national palace in Port-au-Prince on March 22, 2010

LANDING POD: An artist's rendition of Britain's Beagle 2, a probe designed to find life on Mars