Mars Rover

A Mars Rover is an unmanned land vehicle for exploration of the planet Mars.

Introduction

Mars Five rovers were sent and one is scheduled to be sent to Mars so far:
- Mars 2, November 27 1971
- Mars 3, December 2 1971
- Sojourner, Mars Pathfinder, July 4 1997
- Spirit, Mars Exploration Rover, January 3, 2004
- Opportunity, Mars Exploration Rover, January 24 2004
- Mars Science Laboratory Planning The Soviet Union landed the first Mars rover when the Mars 2 lander touched down on November 27, 1971. Five days later, its twin landed with the Mars 3 lander. Both landers failed, however. The first successful Mars Rover, called Sojourner, was sent to Mars by NASA on December 4, 1996 and successfully landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. NASA used a new, larger design for the two Mars Exploration Rovers: Spirit launched on June 10, 2003 and Opportunity launched on July 7, 2003. Spirit landed in Gusev crater on January 3, 2004 and Opportunity landed in the Meridiani Planum on the opposite side of Mars from Spirit, on January 25, 2004. So far all Mars Rovers have been small robotic vehicles intended to travel only a few hundred meters. All three NASA rovers have exceeded their planned missions both in distance travelled and operating time.

External link

- [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/ Rover NASA Homepage] Category:Mars missions
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Vehicle

:This article is about the means of transport. For the political meaning, see electoral vehicle. For the economical meaning, see economic vehicle Vehicles are non-living means of transportation. They are most often man-made (e.g. cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, and aircraft), although some other means of transportation which are not made by man can also be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks. Vehicles may be propelled by animals, e.g. a chariot or an ox-cart. However, animals on their own, though used as a means of transportation, are not called vehicles. This includes humans carrying another human, for example a child or a disabled person. Most land vehicles have wheels. Please see the wheel article for examples of vehicles with and without wheels. Movement without the help of a vehicle or an animal is called locomotion. The word vehicle itself comes from the Latin vehiculum. AVL stands for Automatic Vehicle Location.

Types of vehicles

- Aircraft
- Cars
- Auto rickshaws
- Boats
- Buses
- Coaches
- Motorcycles
- Trains
- Ships
- Vans
- Bicycles
- More...

External Links

- [http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/ Green Vehicle Guide]
- [http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars Vehicle Information] Category:Transportation simple:Vehicle

Mars/Planet

Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun in our solar system, is named after the Roman god of war Mars (Ares in Greek mythology), because of its apparent red color. This feature also earned it the nickname "The Red Planet". Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and oddly-shaped, possibly being captured asteroids. The prefix areo- refers to Mars in the same way geo- refers to Earth—for example, areology versus geology. (However, areology is also used to refer to the study of Mars as a whole rather than just the geological processes of the planet.) The astronomical symbol for Mars is a circle with an arrow pointing northeast (Unicode: ♂). This symbol is a stylized representation of the shield and spear of the god Mars, and in biology it is used as a sign for the male sex. The Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese cultures refer to the planet as the fire star, 火星, a naming based on the ancient Chinese mythological cycle of Five Elements.

Mythology

Mars has been obvious to skygazers since prehistoric times. It was known by the Egyptians as "Her Deschel" or "the Red One." Among the Babylonians Mars was known as "Nergal" or "the Star of Death." The Romans were the ones to give Mars its modern name, after their god of war.

Physical characteristics

The red, fiery appearance of Mars is caused by iron oxide (rust) on its surface. Mars has only a quarter the surface area of the Earth and only one-tenth the mass, though its surface area is approximately equal to that of the Earth's dry land because Mars lacks oceans. The solar day (or sol) on Mars is very close to Earth's day: 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds.

Atmosphere

Mars' atmosphere is thin: the air pressure on the surface is only 750 pascals, about 0.75% of the average on Earth. However, the scale height of the atmosphere is about 11 km, somewhat higher than Earth's 6 km. The atmosphere on Mars is 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and contains traces of oxygen and water. The atmosphere quite dusty, giving the Martian sky a tawny color when seen from the surface; data from the Mars Exploration Rovers indicates the suspended dust particles are roughly 1.5 microns across. In 2003, methane was apparently discovered in the atmosphere by Earth-based telescopes and possibly confirmed in March 2004 by the Mars Express Orbiter; present measurements state an average methane concentration of about 11±4 ppb by volume (see reference). The thin atmosphere cannot hold heat and is the cause of the lower temperatures on Mars. The maximum temperature is roughly 20℃ (68℉). The presence of methane on Mars would be very intriguing, since as an unstable gas it indicates that there must be (or have been within the last few hundred years) a source of the gas on the planet. Volcanic activity, comet impacts, and the existence of life in the form of microorganisms such as methanogens are among possible but as yet unproven sources. The methane appears to occur in patches, which suggests that it is being rapidly broken down before it has time to become uniformly distributed in the atmosphere, and so it is presumably also continually being released to the atmosphere. Plans are now being made to look for other companion gases that may suggest which sources are most likely; in the Earth's oceans biological methane production tends to be accompanied by ethane, while volcanic methane is accompanied by sulfur dioxide. Other aspects of the Martian atmosphere vary significantly. In the winter months when the poles are in continual darkness, the surface gets so cold that as much as 25% of the entire atmosphere condenses out into meters thick slabs of CO₂ ice (dry ice). When the poles are again exposed to sunlight the CO₂ ice sublimates, creating enormous winds that sweep off the poles as fast as 250 mph. These seasonal actions transport large amounts of dust and water vapor giving rise to Earth-like frost and large cirrus clouds. These clouds of water-ice were photographed by the Opportunity rover in 2004.[http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20041213a/merb_sol290_clouds-B313R1_br.jpg] Recently, evidence has been discovered suggesting that Mars may be warming in the short term[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4266474.stm]; however, it is now cooler than it was in the 1970s.[http://catdynamics.blogspot.com/2005/09/climate-science-mars-and-politics.html]

Geology

Opportunity The surface of Mars is thought to be primarily composed of basalt, based upon the Martian meteorite collection and orbital observations. There is some evidence that some portion of the Martian surface might be more silica-rich than typical basalt, perhaps similar to andesitic rocks on Earth, though these observations may also be explained by silica glass. Much of the surface is deeply covered by dust as fine as talcum powder. Observations of the magnetic fields on Mars by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have revealed that parts of the planet's crust has been magnetized. This magnetization has been compared to alternating bands found on the ocean floors of Earth. One interesting theory, published in 1999 and reexamined in October 2005 in a publication by the same group, is that these bands could be evidence of the past operation of plate tectonics on Mars. However, this has yet to be proven [http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02008] or widely accepted and remains an area of active research. plate tectonics Amongst the findings from the Opportunity rover is the presence of hematite on Mars in the form of small spheres on the Meridiani Planum. The spheres are only a few millimeters in diameter and are believed to have formed as rock deposits under watery conditions billions of years ago. Other minerals have also been found containing forms of sulfur, iron or bromine such as jarosite. This and other evidence led a group of 50 scientists to conclude in the December 9, 2004 edition of the journal Science that "Liquid water was once intermittently present at the Martian surface at Meridiani, and at times it saturated the subsurface. Because liquid water is a key prerequisite for life, we infer conditions at Meridiani may have been habitable for some period of time in Martian history". On the opposite side of the planet the mineral goethite, which (unlike hematite) forms only in the presence of water, along with other evidence of water, has also been found by the Spirit rover in the "Columbia Hills". In 1996, researchers studying a meteorite (ALH84001) believed to have originated from Mars reported features which they attributed to microfossils left by life on Mars. As of 2005, this interpretation remains controversial with no consensus having emerged.
Topography
As of 2005 As of 2005 The dichotomy of Martian topography is striking: northern plains flattened by lava flows contrast with the southern highlands, pitted and cratered by ancient impacts. The surface of Mars as seen from Earth is consequently divided into two kinds of areas, with differing albedo. The paler plains covered with dust and sand rich in reddish iron oxides were once thought of as Martian 'continents' and given names like Arabia Terra (land of Arabia) or Amazonis Planitia (Amazonian plain). The dark features were thought to be seas, hence their names Mare Erythraeum, Mare Sirenum and Aurorae Sinus. The largest dark feature seen from Earth is Syrtis Major. Syrtis Major Mars has polar ice caps that contain frozen water and carbon dioxide that change with the Martian seasons — the carbon dioxide ice sublimates in summer it uncovers an underlying surface of layered water ice and dust. The polar carbon dioxide "hood" then forms again in winter. The supposedly-extinct shield volcano, Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus), is at 26 km the highest mountain in the solar system. It is in a vast upland region called Tharsis, which contains several large volcanos. See list of mountains on Mars. Mars also has the solar system's largest canyon system, Valles Marineris or the Mariner Valley, which is 4000 km long and 7 km deep. Mars is also scarred by a number of impact craters. The largest of these is the Hellas impact basin, covered with light red sand. See list of craters on Mars. The difference between Mars' highest and lowest points is nearly 31 km (from the top of Olympus Mons at an altitude of 26 km to the bottom of the Hellas impact basin at an altitude of 4 km below the datum). In comparison, the difference between Earth's highest and lowest points (Mount Everest and the Mariana Trench) is only 19.7 km. Combined with the planets' different radii, this means Mars is nearly three times "rougher" than Earth. The International Astronomical Union's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature is responsible for naming Martian surface features. Other notes: Zero elevation: Since Mars has no oceans and hence no 'sea level', a zero-elevation surface or mean gravity surface must be selected. The datum for Mars is defined by the fourth-degree and fourth-order spherical harmonic gravity field, with the zero altitude defined by the 610.5 Pa (6.105 mbar) atmospheric pressure surface (approximately 0.6% of Earth's) at a temperature of 273.16 K. This pressure and temperature correspond to the triple point of water. Zero meridian: Mars' equator is defined by its rotation, but the location of its Prime Meridian was specified, as was Earth's, by choice of an arbitrary point which was accepted by later observers. The German astronomers Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich Mädler selected a small circular feature as a reference point when they produced the first systematic chart of Mars features in 1830-32. In 1877, their choice was adopted as the prime meridian by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli when he began work on his notable maps of Mars. After the spacecraft Mariner 9 provided extensive imagery of Mars in 1972, a small crater (later called Airy-0), located in the Sinus Meridiani ('Middle Bay' or 'Meridian Bay') along the line of Beer and Mädler, was chosen by Merton Davies of the RAND Corporation to provide a more precise definition of 0.0° longitude when he established a planetographic control point network. RAND Corporation
Canals
Mars has an important place in human imagination due to the belief by some that life existed on Mars. These beliefs are due mainly to observations by many in the 19th century popularized by Percival Lowell and Giovanni Schiaparelli. Schiaparelli called these observed features canali, meaning channels in Italian. This was popularly mistranslated as 'canals', and the myth of the Martian canals began. They were apparently artificial linear features on the surface that were asserted to be canals, and due to seasonal changes in the brightness of some areas that were thought to be caused by vegetation growth. This gave rise to many stories concerning Martians. The linear features are now known to be mostly non-existent or, in some cases, dry ancient watercourses. The color changes have been ascribed to dust storms.
Ice lakes
many stories On 29 July 2005, the BBC reported that a visible ice lake had been discovered in a crater in the north polar region of Mars[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4727847.stm]. Images of the crater, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on board the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft, clearly show a broad sheet of ice in the bottom of an unnamed crater located on Vastitas Borealis, a broad plain that covers much of Mars' far northern latitudes, at approximately 70.5° North and 103° East. The crater is 35 km (23 mi) wide and about 2 km (1.2 mi) deep. The BBC report however, appears to have either intentionally sensationalized or unintentionally mis-interpreted the original HRSC/Mars Express feature[http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMGKA808BE_0.html], which makes no claim or insinuation that this is a "lake". Like many thousands of other places on Mars, this ice sheet is a thin layer of frost that has condensed onto dark, cold sand dunes (about 200 m high) making their way across the bottom of the crater. The only thing remarkable about this feature is that it is far enough north to maintain at least some frost throughout the year.
The moons of Mars
Mars has two tiny natural moons, Phobos and Deimos, which orbit very close to the planet and are thought to be captured asteroids.
The exploration of Mars
asteroid Dozens of spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been sent to Mars by the Soviet Union, the United States, Europe, and Japan to study the planet's surface, climate, and geography. Roughly two-thirds of all spacecraft destined for Mars have failed in one manner or another before completing or even beginning their missions. Part of this high failure rate can be ascribed to technical problems, but enough have either failed or lost communications for no apparent reason that some researchers half-jokingly speak of an Earth-Mars "Bermuda Triangle" or of a Great Galactic Ghoul which subsists on a diet of Mars probes, or of a Mars Curse. Among the most successful missions are the Mars probe program, the Mariner and Viking programs, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Pathfinder, and Mars Odyssey. Global Surveyor has taken pictures of gullies and debris flow features that suggest there may be current sources of liquid water, similar to an aquifer, at or near the surface of the planet. Another possible origin proposed for these gully features is transient melting of surface water snow, frost, or ice. Mars Odyssey determined that there are significant deposits of water ice in the upper meter or so of Mars' regolith within 30° of the north and south pole. In 2003, the ESA launched the Mars Express craft consisting of the Mars Express Orbiter and the lander Beagle 2. Attempts to contact the Beagle 2 failed and it was declared lost in early February 2004. Beagle 2 Also in 2003, NASA launched the twin Mars Exploration Rovers named Spirit (MER-A) and Opportunity (MER-B). Both missions landed successfully in January 2004 and have met or exceeded all their targets; while a 90-day nominal mission was planned, as of February 2005, their missions have been extended twice and they continue to return science, although some mechanical faults have occurred. Among the most significant science return has been evidence of liquid water some time in the past at both landing sites. In addition, dust devils imaged from ground-level have been detected moving across the surface of Mars by Spirit (MER-A). (See picture below). Dust devils were first imaged on Mars from the surface by Mars Pathfinder. Mars Pathfinder
Nomenclature

Early nomenclature
Although better remembered for mapping the Moon starting in 1830, Johann Heinrich Mädler and Wilhelm Beer were the first "areographers". They started off by establishing once and for all that most of the surface features were permanent, and pinned down Mars' rotation period. In 1840, Mädler combined ten years of observations and drew the first map of Mars ever made. Rather than giving names to the various markings they mapped, Beer and Mädler simply designated them with letters; Meridian Bay (Sinus Meridiani) was thus feature "a". Over the next twenty years or so, as instruments improved and the number of observers also increased, various Martian features acquired a hodge-podge of names. To give a couple of examples, Solis Lacus was known as the "Oculus" (the Eye), and Syrtis Major was usually known as the "Hourglass Sea" or the "Scorpion". In 1858, it was also dubbed the "Atlantic Canale" by the Jesuit astronomer Angelo Secchi. Secchi commented that it "seems to play the role of the Atlantic which, on Earth, separates the Old Continent from the New" —this was the first time the fateful canale, which in Italian can mean either "channel" or "canal", had been applied to Mars. In 1867, Richard Anthony Proctor drew up a map of Mars based, somewhat crudely, on the Rev. William Rutter Dawes' earlier drawings of 1865, then the best ones available. Proctor explained his system of nomenclature by saying, "I have applied to the different features the names of those observers who have studied the physical peculiarities presented by Mars." Here are some of his names, paired with those later proposed by Schiaparelli:
- Kaiser Sea = Syrtis Major1865
- Lockyer Land = Hellas
- Main Sea = Lacus Moeris
- Herschel II Strait = Sinus Sabaeus
- Dawes Continent = Aeria and Arabia
- De La Rue Ocean = Mare Erythraeum
- Lockyer Sea = Solis Lacus
- Dawes Sea = Tithonius Lacus
- Madler Continent = Chryse, Ophir, Tharsis
- Maraldi Sea = Mares Sirenum and Cimmerium
- Secchi Continent = Memnonia
- Hooke Sea = Mare Tyrrhenum
- Cassini Land = Ausonia
- Herschel I Continent = Zephyria, Aeolis, Aethiopis
- Hind Land = Libya Proctor's nomenclature has often been criticized, mainly because so many of his names honored English astronomers, but also because he used many names more than once. In particular, Dawes appeared no fewer than six times (Dawes Ocean, Dawes Continent, Dawes Sea, Dawes Strait, Dawes Isle, and Dawes Forked Bay). Even so, Proctor's names are not without charm, and for all their shortcomings they were a foundation on which later astronomers would improve.
Modern nomenclature
Today, features on Mars derive from a number of sources. Large albedo features retain many of the older names, but are often updated to reflect new knowledge of the nature of the features. For example 'Nix Olympica' (the snows of Olympus) has become 'Olympus Mons' (Mount Olympus). Large Martian craters are named after important scientists and science fiction writers; smaller ones are named after towns and villages on Earth.
Observation of Mars
Earth passes Mars every 780 days (or two years plus seven weeks and one day) at a distance of about 80,000,000 km. However, this varies because the orbits are elliptical. To a naked-eye observer, Mars usually shows a distinct yellow, orange or reddish colour, and varies in brightness more than any other planet as seen from Earth over the course of its orbit, due to the fact that when furthest away from the Earth it is more than seven times as far from the latter as when it is closest (and can be lost in the Sun's glare for months at a time when least favourably positioned). At its most favourable times — which occur twice every 32 years, alternately at 15 and 17-year intervals, and always between late July and late September — Mars shows a wealth of surface detail to a telescope. Especially noticeable, even at low magnification, are the polar ice caps. polar ice cap On August 27, 2003, at 9:51:13 UT, Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years: 55,758,006 km (approximately 35 million miles) without Light-time correction. This close approach came about because Mars was one day from opposition and about three days from its perihelion, making Mars particularly easy to see from Earth. The last time it came so close is estimated to have been on September 12, 57,617 BC. Detailed analysis of the solar system's gravitational landscape forecasts an even closer approach in 2287. However, to keep this in perspective, this record approach was only an imperceptibly tiny fraction less than other recent close approaches that occur four times every 284 years. For instance, the minimum distance on August 22 1924 was 0.37284 AU, compared to 0.37271 AU on August 27 2003, and the minimum distance on August 24 2208 will be 0.37278 AU. A transit of the Earth as seen from Mars will occur on November 10, 2084. At that time the Sun, the Earth and Mars will be exactly in a line. There are also transits of Mercury and transits of Venus, and the moon Deimos is of sufficiently small angular diameter that its partial "eclipses" of the Sun are best considered transits (see Transit of Deimos from Mars). The only occultation of Mars by Venus to be observed was that of October 3, 1590, seen by M. Möstlin at Heidelberg. Heidelberg
Appearance

Martian meteorites
:Main article: Martian meteorites A handful of objects are known that are surely meteorites and may be of Martian origin. Two of them may show signs of ancient bacterial activity. On August 6, 1996 NASA announced that analysis of the ALH 84001 meteorite thought to have come from Mars, shows some features that may be fossils of single-celled organisms, although this idea is controversial. In Solar System Research (March 2004, vol 38, page 97) it was suggested that the unique Kaidun meteorite, recovered from Yemen, may have originated on the Martian moon of Phobos. On April 14, 2004, NASA revealed that a rock known as "Bounce", studied by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, was similar in composition to the meteorite EETA79001-B, discovered in Antarctica in 1979. The rock may have been ejected from the same crater as the meteorite, or from another crater in the same area of the Martian surface.
Life on Mars
Evidence exists that the planet once was significantly more habitable than today, but the question whether living organisms ever actually existed there is an open one. Some researchers think that a certain rock which is believed to have originated on Mars - specifically, meteorite ALH84001 - does contain evidence of past biologic activity, but no consensus about these claims has been achieved so far and recent research indicates that the rock, since its creation several billion years ago, has never been exposed to temperatures for extended periods of time that would allow for liquid water. The Viking probes carried experiments designed to detect microorganisms in Martian soil at their respective landing sites, and had some positive results, later denied by many scientists, resulting in ongoing controversy. Also, present biologic activity is one of the explanations that have been suggested for the presence of traces of methane within the Martian atmosphere, but other explanations not involving life are generally considered more likely. If colonization is going to happen, Mars seems a likely choice due to its rather hospitable conditions (compared with other planets, it is most like Earth).
The Mars flag
colonization In early 2000, a proposed Mars flag flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Designed by NASA engineer and Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station task force leader Pascal Lee and carried aboard by astronaut John Mace Grunsfeld, the flag consists of three vertical bars (red, green, and blue), symbolizing the transformation of Mars from a barren planet (red) to one bearing sustainable life (green), and finally to a fully terraformed planet with open bodies of water. This design was suggested by the Kim Stanley Robinson sci-fi trilogy Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars. While other designs have been proposed, the republican tricolor has been adopted by the Mars Society as its own official banner. In a statement released after the launch of the mission, the Society said that the flag "has now been honored by a vessel of the leading spacefaring nation on Earth," and added that "(i)t is fitting that this action occurred when it did: at the dawning of a new millenium."
Mars in fiction
The depiction of Mars in fiction has been stimulated its dramatic red color and by early scientific speculations that its surface conditions might be capable of supporting life. Until the arrival of planetary probes, the traditional view of Mars derived from the astronomers Percival Lowell and Giovanni Schiaparelli, whose observation of supposedly linear features on the planet created the myth of canals on Mars. For many years, a standard notion of the planet as a drying, cooling, dying world with ancient civilizations constructing irrigation works. Thus originated a large number of science fiction scenarios, the best known of which is H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, in which Martians seek to escape their dying planet by invading Earth. After the Mariner and Viking spacecraft had returned pictures of Mars as it really is, an apparently lifeless and canal-less world, these ideas about Mars had to be abandoned and a vogue for accurate, realist depictions of human colonies on Mars developed, the best known of which may be Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. However, pseudo-scientific speculations about the Face on Mars and other enigmatic landmarks spotted by space probes have meant that ancient civilizations continue to be a popular theme in science fiction, especially in film. Another popular theme, particularly among American writers, is the Martian colony that fights for independence from Earth. This is a major plot element in the novels of Greg Bear and Kim Stanley Robinson, as well as the movie Total Recall (based on a novel by Philip K. Dick) and the television series Babylon 5. Many video games also use this element, such as Red Faction.
See also

- Areography
- Astrobiology
- Astronomy on Mars
- Colonization of Mars
- Darian calendar
- Face on Mars photo article
- Timekeeping on Mars
- Exploration of Mars
- List of artificial objects on Mars
- List of craters on Mars
- List of mountains on Mars
- Martian meteorite
- Mars photos
- Mars in fiction
- Extraterrestrial life
- Terraforming
- Mars Direct
- Mars in astrology
- Ares
- Tyr
- Richard C. Hoagland
References

- William Sheehan, [http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/mars/contents.htm The Planet Mars: A History of Observation and Discovery], The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1996
- Vladimir A. Krasnopolsky, Jean-Pierre Maillard, Tobias C. Owen, [http://www.google.ca/url?sa=U&start=1&q=http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU04/06169/EGU04-A-06169.pdf&e=912 Detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere: evidence for life?], Icarus, 172 (2), 537-547. [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2004Sci...306.1753L&db_key=AST&data_type=HTML&format=&high=439c7b95b425777 Lemmon et al., "Atmospheric Imaging Results from the Mars Exploration Rovers: Spirit and Opportunity"]
External links

- [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/marsfact.html NASA's Mars fact sheet]
- [http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html Nine Planets Mars page]
- [http://www.marsnews.com MarsNews.com - News and info site]
- [http://www.student.oulu.fi/~jkorteni/space/mars/surface/ Introduction to Martian topography, with Hubble Space Telescope photos]
- [http://www.geoinf.fu-berlin.de/mex/ FU Berlin: HRSC (camera) experiment at Mars Express] (eng. & ger.; press releases and high resolution images)
- [http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/notes.html Technical Notes about Time on Mars]
- [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4212/on-mars.html On Mars: Exploration of the Red Planet 1958-1978] from the NASA History Office.
- [http://flagspot.net/flags/mars.html The Mars Society flag]
- [http://www.vias.org/spacetrip/mars_globalview.html A Trip Into Space] Photos and descriptions of Mars
- [http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/980815paper.html Martian Law - a CATO white paper]
- [http://www.marsunearthed.com/ Mars Unearthed] - Comparisons of terrains between Earth and Mars
- [http://www.ibiblio.org//e-notes/VRML/Globe/Globe.htm 3D VRML Mars globe]
- [http://www.enterprisemission.com/ Enterprise Mission: Richard C. Hoagland's Homepage]
Water on Mars

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4727847.stm Highly visible ice lake found on Mars - BBC]
- Dr. Tony Phillips: [http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast29jun_1m.htm "Making a Splash on Mars"], Science@NASA article, June 29, 2000. Phillips describes the Martian "gullies" and explains the conditions under which liquid water can exist on the surface of Mars.
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2009000/2009318.stm BBC News story on subsurface ice deposits on Mars]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3426539.stm BBC News update on Mars Express' findings of polar water ice and water-eroded features on the surface]
- [http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/opportunity_water.html Mars Rover Scientists Wring Water Story from Rocks] This image taken by Mars Rover Opportunity shows microscopic rock forms indicating past signs of water. Courtesy: NASA
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4285119.stm BBC News Mars pictures reveal frozen sea]
Mars exploration

- [http://www.transhumanist.com/volume4/space.htm The Political Economy of Very Large Space Projects (Journal Of Evolution and Technology)]
- [http://www.exploremarsnow.org/ exploreMarsnow] Interactive Mars base simulation. Winner of 2003 Webby Award for Science.
- [http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html NASA Mars Exploration Rover Home Page]
- [http://dualmoments.com/marsrovers/index.html Be on Mars] Anaglyphs from the Mars Rovers (3D)
- als:Mars (Planet) ko:화성 ms:Marikh ja:火星 simple:Mars (planet) th:ดาวอังคาร

November 27

November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year. There are 34 days remaining.

Events

- 399 - St. Anastius I becomes Pope.
- 1095 - Pope Urban II declares the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont.
- 1703 - The first Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703.
- 1839 - In Boston, Massachusetts, the American Statistical Association is founded.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and several of his men escape the Ohio state prison and return safely to the South.
- 1868 - Indian Wars: Battle of Washita River - United States Army Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads an attack on Cheyenne living on reservation land.
- 1895 - At the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, Alfred Nobel signs his last will and testament, setting aside his estate to establish the Nobel Prize after he dies.
- 1901 - U.S. Army War College is established.
- 1912 - Spain declares a protectorate over the north shore of Morocco.
- 1919 - Haiti becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1924 - In New York City the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held.
- 1926 - In Williamsburg, Virginia, the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg begins.
- 1934 - Bank robber Baby Face Nelson dies in a shoot-out with the FBI.
- 1940 - In Romania, General Ion Antonescu's Iron Guard arrests and executes over 60 of exiled King Carol II of Romania's aides, including former minister Nicolae Iorga.
- 1940 - World War II: At the Battle of Cape Spartivento, the Royal Navy engages the Regia Marina in the Mediterranean.
- 1942 - World War II: At Toulon, the French navy scuttles its ships and submarines to keep them out of Nazi hands.
- 1946 - Cold War: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appeals to the United States and the Soviet Union to end nuclear testing and to start nuclear disarmament, stating that such an action would "save humanity from the ultimate disaster".
- 1954 - Alger Hiss is released from prison after serving 44 months for perjury.
- 1963 - The Convention on the Unification of Certain Points of Substantive Law on Patents for Invention is signed at Strasbourg.
- 1965 - Vietnam War: The Pentagon tells U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson that if planned operations were to succeed, the number of American troops in Vietnam has to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000.
- 1973 - The United States Senate votes 92 to 3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States (on December 6, the House confirmed him 387 to 35).
- 1975 - The Provisional IRA assassinates Ross McWhirter, after a press conference in which McWhirter announced a reward for the capture of those responsible for multiple bombings and shootings across England and espoused his anti-Irish racist views.
- 1978 - In San Francisco, California, city mayor George Moscone and openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former supervisor Dan White.
- 1983 - A Colombian Boeing 747 crashes near Madrid's Barajas Airport, killing 183.
- 1987 - Canadian rock band Cowboy Junkies record their album The Trinity Sessions in one night using one microphone at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto.
- 1990 - The British Conservative Party chooses John Major to succeed Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1991 - The United Nations Security Council adopts UN Security Council Resolution 721, leading the way to the establishment of peacekeeping operations in Yugoslavia.
- 1992 - For the second time in a year, military forces try to overthow president Carlos Andres Perez in Venezuela.
- 1997 - Twenty-five are killed in the second Souhane massacre in Algeria.
- 1999 - The left-wing Labour Party takes control of the New Zealand government with leader Helen Clark becoming the first elected female Prime Minster in New Zealand's history.
- 2001 - A hydrogen atmosphere is discovered on the extrasolar planet Osiris by the Hubble Space Telescope, the first atmosphere detected on an extrasolar planet.
- 2005 - 23rd Southeast Asian Games was officially opened by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Manila, Philippines.
- 2005 - The first partial human face transplant is completed in Amiens, France.

Births

- 1127 - Emperor Xiaozong of China (d. 1194)
- 1576 - Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese ruler of Satsuma (d. 1638)
- 1582 - Pierre Dupuy, French scholar (d. 1651)
- 1630 - Archduke Sigismund Francis of Austria (d. 1665)
- 1635 - Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, Queen of Louis XIV of France (d. 1719)
- 1701 - Anders Celsius, Swedish inventor and astronomer (d. 1744)
- 1710 - Robert Lowth, British bishop (d. 1787)
- 1746 - Robert Livingston, American signatory of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1813)
- 1804 - Julius Benedict, German-born composer (d. 1885)
- 1809 - Fanny Kemble, British actress (d. 1893)
- 1843 - Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1899)
- 1857 - Charles Scott Sherrington, British physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1952)
- 1867 - Charles Koechlin, French composer (d. 1950)
- 1874 - Charles A. Beard, American historian (d. 1948)
- 1874 - Chaim Weizmann, first President of Israel (d. 1952)
- 1901 - Ted Husing, American sportscaster (d. 1962)
- 1903 - Lars Onsager, Norwegian chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
- 1907 - L. Sprague de Camp, American writer (d. 2000)
- 1909 - James Agee, American writer (d. 1955)
- 1911 - David Merrick, American stage producer (d. 2000)
- 1916 - Chick Hearn, American sports announcer (d. 2002)
- 1917 - Buffalo Bob Smith, American television host (d. 1998)
- 1920 - Abe Lenstra, Dutch international footballer (d. 1985)
- 1921 - Alexander Dubček, Slovak politician and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (d. 1992)
- 1925 - John Maddox, British science writer and editor
- 1925 - Ernie Wise, British comedian (d. 1999)
- 1926 - Barbara Anderson, New Zealand author
- 1927 - Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer
- 1928 - Alekos Alexandrakis, Greek actor (d. 2005)
- 1932 - Benigno Aquino Jr., Philippine politician (d. 1983)
- 1937 - Gail Sheehy, American writer
- 1940 - Bruce Lee, American actor and martial artist (d. 1973)
- 1941 - Eddie Rabbitt, American singer (d. 1998)
- 1941 - Aimé Jacquet, French international football manager
- 1942 - Henry Carr, American athlete
- 1942 - Jimi Hendrix, American singer, guitarist and songwriter (d. 1970)
- 1948 - James L. Avery, Sr., American actor
- 1951 - Jayne Kennedy, American sportscaster and actress
- 1952 - James D. Wetherbee, American astronaut
- 1952 - Sheila Copps, Canadian politician
- 1953 - Curtis Armstrong, American actor
- 1953 - Boris Grebenshchikov, Russian singer and poet, leader of the band Aquarium
- 1954 - Patricia McPherson, American actress
- 1955 - Bill Nye, American engineer and broadcaster
- 1956 - William Fichtner, American actor
- 1957 - Caroline Kennedy, American journalist
- 1958 - Mike Scioscia, American baseball manager
- 1960 - Ken O'Brien, American football player
- 1962 - Charlie Benante, American musician
- 1962 - Davey Boy Smith (David Smith), British professional wrestler (d. 2002)
- 1963 - Fisher Stevens, American actor
- 1964 - Robin Givens, American actress
- 1966 - Andy Merrill, American voice actor
- 1968 - Michael Vartan, French actor
- 1969 - Kianna Dior, Canadian adult film star
- 1971 - Nick Van Exel, American basketball player
- 1973 - Evan Karagias, American professional wrestler
- 1973 - Twista (Carl Mitchell), American rapper
- 1975 - Martin Gramatica, American football player
- 1976 - Jaleel White, American actor
- 1978 - Jimmy Rollins, American baseball player
- 1978 - The Streets (Mike Skinner), British rapper and musician
- 1979 - The Game (Jayceon Taylor), American rapper
- 1985 - Alison Pill, Canadian actress

Deaths

- 8 BC - Horace, Roman poet and satirist (b. 65 BC)
- 511 - Clovis I, King of the Franks
- 835 - Muhammad at-Taqi, Shia Imam (b. 811)
- 1198 - Queen Constance of Sicily, wife of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1154)
- 1474 - Guillaume Dufay, Flemish composer
- 1570 - Jacopo Sansovino, Italian sculptor and architect (b. 1486)
- 1592 - Nakagawa Hidemasa, Japanese samurai commander (b. 1568)
- 1592 - King John III of Sweden (b. 1537)
- 1632 - John Eliot, English statesman (b. 1592)
- 1680 - Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (b. 1601)
- 1754 - Abraham de Moivre, French mathematician (b. 1667)
- 1811 - Andrew Meikle, British mechanical engineer (b. 1719)
- 1852 - Ada Lovelace, British mathematician (b. 1815)
- 1895 - Alexandre Dumas fils, French author (b. 1824)
- 1931 - Lya De Putti, Hungarian actress (b. 1899)
- 1932 - Evelyn Preer, American actress and singer (b. 1896)
- 1934 - Baby Face Nelson, American gangster (b. 1908)
- 1940 - Nicolae Iorga, Romanian writer and politician (executed)
- 1943 - Edward O'Hare, American pilot (b. 1914)
- 1944 - Leonid Isaakovich Mandelshtam, Russian physicist (b. 1879)
- 1953 - Eugene O'Neill, American writer and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
- 1955 - Arthur Honegger, French-born Swiss composer (b. 1892)
- 1958 - Artur Rodzinski, Polish conductor (b. 1892)
- 1973 - Frank Christian, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1887)
- 1975 - Ross McWhirter, British co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (b. 1925)
- 1978 - Harvey Milk, American politician (assassinated) (b. 1930)
- 1978 - George Moscone, Mayor of San Francisco (assassinated) (b. 1929)
- 1981 - Lotte Lenya, Austrian singer and actress (b. 1898)
- 1988 - John Carradine, American actor (b. 1906)
- 1990 - David White, American actor (b. 1916)
- 1992 - Ivan Generalić, Croatian painter (b. 1914)
- 2005 - Jocelyn Brando, American actress (b. 1919)

Holidays and observances

- R.C. Saints - Saint Vergilius of Salzburg; James the Persian ( James Intercisus ); (fictitious) saints Barlaam and Josaphat
- Also see November 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- USA-Thanksgiving (if a Thursday)

Recorded this date

- 1901 My Lonesome Little Louisiana Lady (w. Will D. Cobb m. Gus Edwards)
- Joe Natus

- 1901 I'll Be With You When The Roses Bloom Again (w. Will D. Cobb m. Gus Edwards)
- Joseph Natus

- 1916 A Broken Doll (w.m. James W. Tate & Clifford Harris)
- Al Jolson with O/Charles A. Prince

- 1916 My Hawaiian Sunrise (w.m. L. Wolfe Gilbert & Carey Morgan)
- Henry Burr & Albert C. Campbell

- 1920 Grieving For You (w.m. Joe Gibson, Joe Ribaud & Joe Gold)
- Marion Harris

- 1925 I Never Knew (w. Gus Kahn m. Ted Fio Rito)
- Gene Austin with Nat Shilkret

- 1925 Clap Hands! Here Comes Charley! (w. Billy Rose & Ballard MacDonald m. Joseph Meyer)
- Billy Murray with Jack Shilkret & his Orchestra

- 1926 Like He Loves Me (w. Anne Caldwell m. Vincent Youmans)
- Beatrice Lillie with p. Vincent Youmans<
- 1931 I Don't Know Why (w. Roy Turk m. Fred E. Ahlert)
- Phyllis Robins & Sam Browne with Ambrose & his Orchestra

- 1931 I Wanna Be Loved By You (w. Bert Kalmar m. Harry Ruby & Herbert Stothart)
- Sam Browne with Ambrose & his Orchestra

- 1933 By A Waterfall (w. Irving Kahal m. Sammy Fain)
- Pat O'Malley with Jack Hylton & his Orchestra

- 1933 Your Mother's Son-In-Law (w. Mann Holiner m. Alberta Nichols)
- Billie Holiday with Benny Goodman & his Orchestra

- 1933 A Hundred Years From Today (w. Ned Washington & Joe Young m. Victor Young)
- Ethel Waters with Benny Goodman & his Orchestra

- 1933 I Just Couldn't Take It Baby (w. Mann Holiner m. Alberta Nichols)
- Ethel Waters with Benny Goodman & his Orchestra

- 1933 One Morning In May (w. Mitchell Parish m. Hoagy Carmichael)
- Lanny Ross with Ray Sinatra & his Orchestra

- 1933 Did You Ever See A Dream Walking? (w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel)
- Carmen Lombardo with Guy Lombardo & his Royal Canadians

- 1933 My Song Goes 'Round The World (w.m. Hans May, Ernst Neubach & Jimmy Kennedy)
- Pat O'Malley with Jack Hylton & his Orchestra

- 1933 Honeymoon Hotel (w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren)
- Pat O'Malley, Sonny Farrar & Billy Ternent with Jack Hylton & his Orchestra

- 1934 Lady Fair (w.m. Cole Porter)
- Anything Goes Foursome

- 1934 Anything Goes (w.m. Cole Porter)
- Cole Porter with own piano accompaniment

- 1934 Nobody Loves A Fairy When She's Forty (w.m. Arthur W. D. Henley)
- Bertha Willmott with Billy Cotton & his Band

- 1935 Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo (w.m. Johnny Mercer & Matt Malneck)
- Bob Crosby
- Ginger Rogers & Johnny Mercer with Victor Young

- 1935 One Fine Day (w. Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa m. Giacomo Puccini)
- Grace Moore with O/Joseph Pasternack

- 1935 Love Me Forever (w. Gus Kahn m. Victor Schertzinger)
- Grace Moore with O/Joseph Pasternack

- 1935 Two Little Babes In The Wood (w.m. Cole Porter)
- Cole Porter with own piano accompaniment

- 1941 Ev'rything I Love (w.m. Cole Porter)
- Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman & his Orchestra

- 1941 Winter Weather (w.m. Ted Shapiro)
- Peggy Lee & Art London with Benny Goodman & his Orchestra

- 1945 Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne)
- Connie Boswell with O/Russ Morgan

- 1945 The Song Is You (w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern)
- Waring's Pennsylvanians

- 1947 Galway Bay (w.m. Dr Arthur Colahan)
- Bing Crosby with O/Victor Young

- 1947 Swingin' Down The Lane (w. Gus Kahn m. Isham Jones)
- Bing Crosby with O/John Scott Trotter

- 1947 Memories (w. Gustave Kahn m. Egbert Van Alstyne)
- Bing Crosby with O/John Scott Trotter

- 1947 I'll See You In My Dreams (w. Gus Kahn m. Isham Jones)
- Bing Crosby with O/John Scott Trotter

- 1947 Joplin's Sensation (m. Scott Joplin)
- Mutt Carey & his New Yorkers

- 1947 Alice Blue Gown (w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Tierney)
- Jo Stafford

- 1947 In The Still Of The Night (w.m. Cole Porter)
- Jo Stafford with O/Paul Weston

- 1947 Through The Years (w. Edward Heyman m. Vincent Youmans)
- Jo Stafford with O/Paul Weston

- 1947 In The Market Place Of Old Monterey (w. Stanley Adams m. Peter DeRose)
- Harry Babbitt with Kay Kyser & his Orchestra

- 1951 Dance Me Loose (w. Mel Howard m. Lee Erwin)
- Arthur Godfrey & Chordettes with O/Archie Bleyer

- 1951 Slow Poke (w.m. Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart & Chilton Price)
- Arthur Godfrey w. Chordettes with O/Archie Bleyer

- 1953 Taking A Chance On Love (w. John Latouche & Ted Fetter m. Vernon Duke)
- Jo Stafford

- 1953 Where Are You? (Kahn, Rinker)
- Jo Stafford with O/Paul Weston

- 1957 The Stroll (w.m. Nancy Lee & Clyde Otis)
- The Diamonds

- 1957 Walking Along (Sam Weiss, Winston Willis)
- The Diamonds

- 1962 Nobody's Darlin' But Mine (w.m. Jimmie Davis)
- Frank Ifield with O/Norrie Paramor

- 1966 Willkommen (w. Fred Ebb m. John Kander)
- Joel Grey with O/Harold Hastings

- 1987 The Trinity Session, Cowboy Junkies

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/27 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20051127.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- November 26 - November 28 - October 27 - December 27 - more historical anniversaries ko:11월 27일 ms:27 November ja:11月27日 simple:November 27 th:27 พฤศจิกายน

1971

1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar).

Events

January

- January 1 - British Divorce Reform Act comes into force
- January 2 - 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster.
- January 2 - A ban on television cigarette advertisements goes into effect in the United States.
- January 3 - BBC Open University begins in the United Kingdom
- January 7 - Howard Hughes breaks his silence to announce that his supposed biography is a forgery.
- January 8 – Tupamaros kidnap Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo; they keep him captive until September
- January 9 – Uruguayan president Jorge Pacheco Areco demands emergency powers for 90 days due to kidnappings and receives them the next day
- January 14 – 70 Brazilian political prisoners released in Santiago. Giovanni Enrico Bucher is released January 16
- January 15 - Aswan Dam officially opened
- January 18 – Strikes in Poland demand resignation of interior minister Kazimierz Switala. He resigns January 23 and is replaced by Franciszek Szlachcic
- January 19 – Representatives of 23 western oil companies begin negotiations with OPEC in Tehran to stabilize oil prices. February 14 they sign a treaty with six Persian Gulf countries
- January 19 - No, No Nanette premieres (46th Street Theatre, New York City)
- January 24 – Guinean government sentences to death 92 Guineans who helped Portuguese troops in the failed landing attempts in November 1970. 72 are sentenced to hard labor for life. 58 of the sentenced are hanged the next day
- January 25 - Charles Manson and three female "family members" are found guilty of the 1969 murder of Sharon Tate and others at Sharon's house
- January 25 - Idi Amin leads a coup deposing Milton Obote and becomes Uganda's president
- January 25 - Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state
- January 31 - Apollo program: US spaceflight Apollo 14, commanded by Alan Shepard, lifts off on the third successful lunar landing mission

February

- February 2 - Idi Amin ousts Milton Obote and assumes power in Uganda
- February 4 - In Britain, Rolls Royce goes bankrupt - state takes over
- February 5 - Apollo 14 lands on the Moon.
- February 7 - Tuscany, Italy, wrecked in an earthquake
- February 7 - Men of Switzerland vote for giving voting rights to women in state elections - but not in all canton-specific ones.
- February 7 – Wladyslaw Gomulka is expelled from central council of the Polish communist party
- February 8 - A new stock market index called the Nasdaq debuts
- February 9 - The 6.4 on the Richter Scale Sylmar earthquake hits the San Fernando Valley area of California.
- February 9 - Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to become voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
- February 9 - Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned moon landing
- February 11 - US, UK, USSR, others sign Seabed Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons.
- February 11-12 – Palestinian and Jordanian fighters clash in Amman
- February 13 - Vietnam War: Backed by American air and artillery support, South Vietnamese troops invade Laos.
- February 15 - "Decimalisation Day" - United Kingdom and Ireland both switch to decimal currency. See also decimalisation.
- February 15 – Angry Belgian farmers crash the EEC meeting in Brussels with three live cows with them
- February 16 – In Italy, local parliament elects the city of Catanzaro as the capital of Calabria – residents of Reggio di Calabria riot for five days because of the decision
- February 20 – 50 tornadoes rage in Mississippi – 74 dead
- February 20 - US Emergency Broadcast System sends an erroneous warning - many radio stations just ignore it
- February 21 - The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
- February 26 - Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
- February 27 - Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start to perform abortus provocatus

March

- March 1 - Bomb explodes in men's room in the White House - Weather Underground claims responsibility.
- March 1 - Pakistani President Yahya Khan indefinitely postponed the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
- March 1 - Canadian John Robarts ends his term of office as 17th premier of Ontario
- March 5 – Pakistani army occupies the East Pakistan
- March 7 – Strike of British postal workers ends after 47 days
- March 10 - Twenty-sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution lowers voting age to 18.
- March 12 - Hafez al-Assad becomes president of Syria.
- March 16 – Government of Trygve Bratteli in Norway
- March 18 - A landslide at Chungar, Peru crashes into Lake Yanahuani killing 200
- March 23 – Military coup in Argentina – general Alejandro Lanusse takes power
- March 25 – Pakistani army starts massive killing in East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh, after an open, non-democratic denial by Pakistani president Yahiya Khan, a military ruler, of election results that gave Awami League an overwhelming majority in the parliament.
- March 26 - The Independence Day of Bangladesh.
- March 29 - Filming begins on The Godfather. Shooting starts on Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. The movie, released in 1972, won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.
- March 29 - William Calley is found guilty of 22 murders in My Lai massacre and sentenced to life in prison. He is later pardoned.
- March 29 - A Los Angeles, California jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers.

April

- April 1 - United Kingdom lifts all restrictions on gold ownership
- April 5 – In Ceylon, group calling himself People’s Liberation Front begins a rebellion against Bandaranaike government
- April 5 – Chile and East Germany form diplomatic relations
- April 5 - Mount Etna erupts
- April 7 – Greece releases 261 political prisoners, 50 of which are sent to internal exile
- April 8 – Right-wing coup attempt exposed in Laos
- April 9 - Charles Manson is sentenced to death but the sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.
- April 12 – Palestinians retreat from Amman to north of Jordan
- April 17 – Bangladesh makes official declaration of independence but Pakistani troops continue the fighting
- April 17 - Libya, Syria and Egypt sign an agreement to form a confederation.
- April 19 – Government of Bangladesh flees to India
- April 19 – Sierra Leone becomes a republic
- April 19 – Unemployment in UK is 3.4%
- April 19 - Soviet Union launches Saljut I.
- April 19 - Followers of Charles Manson, the Manson Family, are sentenced to gas chamber.
- April 20 - Supreme Court of the United States rules unanimously that busing of students may be ordered to achieve racial desegregation.
- April 20 – Cambodian Prime Minister Lon Nol resigns
- April 21 – Siaka Stevens is elected the first president of Sierra Leone
- April 21 – François Duvalier, president of Haiti, dies—his son Jean-Claude Duvalier follows him as president-for-life
- April 24 – Soyuz 10 docks with Salyut 1
- April 24 – 500,000 people in Washington DC and 125,000 in San Francisco march against the Vietnam War
- April 24 - Tsunami 85 m high rises over Ryukyu Islands in Japan. It throws a 750-ton block of coral 2.5 km inland
- April 25 – Todor Zhivkov re-elected as the leader of the Bulgarian communist party
- April 25 – Franz Jonas re-elected as the new chancellor of Austria
- April 26 – Government of Turkey declares the state of siege in 11 provinces, Ankara included, because of violent demonstrations
- April 29 – Bolivia nationalizes American-owned zinc mine of Matilde
- April 29 - The third anniversary of the Broadway musical Hair was celebrated with a concert at a Central Park bandshell.

May

- May 1 - Amtrak begins operation of intercity rail passenger service in the United States
- May 1 – Ceylonese government promises amnesty for those guerillas who surrender before April 5
- May 2 – in Ceylon left-wing guerillas launch a series of assaults against public buildings
- May 3 – Harris public opinion poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the war in Vietnam
- May 3 – East German leader Walter Ulbricht resigns as a party leader but retains the positions of the head of state
- May 3 - Anti-war militants attempt to disrupt government business in Washington, D.C.; police and military units arrest as many as 12,000, most of whom are later released.
- May 3 - All Things Considered, National Public Radio's flagship news program, broadcasts for the first time.
- May 5 – US dollar floods the European currency markets and threatens especially the Deutsche Mark – Central banks of Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland stop the currency trading
- May 6 – Ceylon government begins a major offensive against the People's Liberation Front
- May 9 – Launch of Mariner 8 fails
- May 12 – Earthquake in Turkey destroys most of the city of Burdur
- May 15 – Israeli ambassador to Turkey, Efraim Elrom, is kidnapped. He is found killed in Istanbul May 25
- May 16 – Coup attempt exposed and foiled in Egypt
- May 19 - Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union
- May 26 – Austria and People's Republic of China form diplomatic relations
- May 26 - Qantas agrees to pay $500,000 to Bomb hoaxer-extortionist Mr Brown (Peter Marcini) (Later Arrested)
- May 27 – Six armed passengers hijack Romanian passenger plane and force it to fly to Vienna
- May 27 - Christie's auctions diamond later known as Deepdene - it is later found to be artificially colored
- May 28 – Portugal resigns from UNESCO
- May 30 - Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched toward Mars
- May 31 - The birth of a new country, Bangladesh, is declared by the government in exile from territory formerly part of Pakistan.

June

- June 1 - Vietnam War: Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace, claiming to represent the majority of U.S. veterans who served in southeast Asia, speak against war protests
- June 6 - Soyuz program: Soyuz 11 launches.
- June 6 - A midair collision between a Hughes Airwest Douglas DC-9 jetliner and a U.S. Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom jet fighter near Duarte, California claims 50 lives.
- June 10 – USA ends trade embargo of China.
- June 13 - Vietnam War: The New York Times begins to publish the Pentagon Papers. [http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/48.htm].
- June 13 - Gijs van Lennep wins the 24 hours of Le Mans together with Helmet Marko.
- June 14 - Norway begins oil production in North Sea.
- June 17 - Representatives of Japan and the United States sign the Okinawa Reversion Agreement, setting out a plan where the U.S. would return control of Okinawa.[http://www.niraikanai.wwma.net/pages/archive/rev71.html]
- June 20 – Britain announces that Soviet space scientist Anatoli Fedosejev has been granted asylum.
- June 21 – Britain begins new negotiations for EEC membership in Luxembourg.
- June 25 – Madagascar accuses USA of being connected to the plot to oust the current government – USA recalls its ambassador.
- June 28 - Assassin Jerome A. Johnson shoots Joe Colombo to the head in a middle of a Italian-American rally. Colombo goes into coma.
- June 30 - After a successful mission aboard Salyut 1, the world's first manned space station, the crew of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft are killed when their air supply leaks out through a faulty valve.

July

- July 3 - Doors musician Jim Morrison in found dead in his Paris apartment.
- July 5 -