50 Years of Landing on Mars

This week marks the anniversary of two important milestones in space exploration. One is the first landing of humans on the Moon, which happened in 1969, but the other is the first landing of a probe on Mars in 1976. This year happens to be the golden anniversary of that!

Like sending humans to the Moon, putting a probe on Mars was no small feat, and it was a milestone both the US and USSR wanted to achieve first. Both countries were launching rockets to Mars throughout the '60s, most of which failed, but the US sent three probes to Mars successfully by the end of that decade: Mariner 4, Mariner 6, and Mariner 7. Those took the first close-range photos of Mars. Going into the '70s, the USSR managed to send two probes to Mars, called Mars 2 and Mars 3, but those were only partial successes. Mars 2 crashed, and Mars 3 lost contact only 21 seconds after landing, which basically counted as a failure. Other American and Soviet orbiters achieved success in subsequent years, but Viking 1 was a spectacular success by comparison.

The first black-and-white photo from Mars: July 20, 1976, exactly 7 years after Apollo 11's landing.

The Viking 1 lander was actually going to land on the 200th anniversary of the US: July 4, 1976. However, the original landing site was shown to be too rough. Therefore, NASA chose to have the lander go to a different site on the 7th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing: July 20, 1976. Viking 1 was able to land on Mars on that day, and unlike Mars 3, its communication with Earth continued on for years. Viking 1 gave us the first black-and-white photo from Mars on its first day, and the first color photo on the second day.

First color photo from Mars: July 21, 1976. 50 years ago!

Viking 1 continued communication with Earth up until November 11, 1982. During all that time, it sent thousands of images and performed four tests on soil samples to see if there were signs of biological activity. Three were negative, and one positive, which confused researchers who expected all four to be positive or negative. This search for either present or past life on Mars continues with numerous probes that have been sent to Mars.

Just as the US landed humans on the Moon on six missions, an achievement that no other country has done, so too has the US sent 9 successful landers and rovers to Mars. Only recently in 2021 did China become the second country to successfully land a probe on Mars. The question is, will humans ever set foot on Mars like they did on the Moon? If we can solve the problems that come with such a mission, it could happen within this decade or the next.

The Stupidity of Permanent Daylight Saving Time

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. While that bill would still need to clear the Senate, it's still difficult for me to believe that it passed the House because of how ridiculous Daylight Saving Time is in the first place.

If you use more daylight, you'll help win the war. So the rationale went.

The Wartime Lie

Daylight Saving Time was first introduced during World War One as a way to save on fuel consumption by pretending the time was an hour later. This is also when Daylight Saving Time was introduced for part of the year; otherwise, "permanent" Daylight Saving Time would just be moving the time zone boundary westward. However, it wasn't until the Uniform Time Act in 1966 that the whole country began having Daylight Saving Time at the same time of year. Then, Arizona and Hawaii opted out of Daylight Saving Time, and I think those states made the right choice.

Where Midday is Already at 1pm Without Daylight Saving Time

Even without Daylight Saving Time, many areas of the United States (and the world, for that matter) are in areas where their time zone is too far ahead. This means that even during Standard Time, the Sun is at its highest point in the sky well after the clock says 12:00. For example, in my hometown of Minneapolis, midday is at 12:15 without Daylight Saving Time. When Daylight Saving Time is used, midday is at 1:15pm. When it is midday in Philadelphia, the clock would say 12:00 in Minneapolis! There's a brilliant illustration of this difference between solar time and clock time if you read the blog post "How much is time wrong around the world?" by Stefano Maggiolo. By reading that post, you'll also see that very few areas have midday before 11:30 when using Standard Time. Other areas, such as central Alaska, already have midday at 1:00pm, which means permanent Daylight Saving Time would put midday all the way to 2pm year-round. All being told, most areas are more closely aligned with solar time if they use Standard Time. Daylight Saving Time effectively shifts everyone one time zone to the east.

Tough to Get Up in the Morning? It Could be Tougher!

Many people find it difficult to get up in the morning if it's still dark outside, including myself. If sunrise isn't until 8:00 in the winter, I find it difficult to feel well-rested if I wake up at 7 or earlier. Do we really want to introduce permanent Daylight Saving Time, which would make the Sun rise at 9 instead?

Some supporters of Daylight Saving Time love the idea of later sunsets. Alright, but that naturally comes in the spring and summer. Earlier sunsets make us feel more ready for bed. I think it's better to be sleepy for bed and awake for getting up, not the other way around, don't you?

Conclusion

While most would agree that it would be nice not to have to switch clock times twice a year, the dumber of the two alternatives seems to be the more popular one. I can't understand why. I hope that you, on the other hand, will understand why the wartime lie called Daylight Saving Time should not be the time used year-round. I hope you will also understand why getting rid of Daylight Saving Time would be the best choice.