Of course the Red Planet is Mars but did you know the planet is probably not really red? It appears Red to us because of the filters used to take pictures of it. Today remembers the first spaceship launch to view Mars closer, the Mariner 4. It was launched November 28th, 1964, traveling to 6,118 miles off the surface of Mars on July 14th, 1965. Today there is renewed interest in reaching Mars and seeing if there is anything of use there for mankind.
How to celebrate – Set up a telescope and see if you can find Mars. Read about NASA. Read about all the planets in our Solar System.