A Boomer’s History of Mars

From radio and film to TV and NASA, 12 Martian moments

by Bill Hogan, AARP

Courtesy NASA

'Mars Fever'

En español | The Red Planet has fascinated humans since ancient times. The idea that it has intelligent life — advanced mostly by self-taught astronomer Percival Lowell — gave us a centurylong case of “Mars fever.” On the 50th anniversary of Mariner 4’s quest for an up-close look, how many of these Martian moments do you remember?

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Mary Evans Picture Library/Everett Collection

1898: 'The War of the Worlds'

In H.G. Wells’ sci-fi classic, Martians use robotic fighting machines to take over Earth.

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Harry Warnecke/NY Daily News via Getty Images

1938: 'War of the Worlds' (radio)

Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre make an alien invasion seem just a bit too real.

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20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

1953: 'Invaders From Mars'

The surreal frightfest begins with a 12-year-old boy seeing a flying saucer land out back.

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Courtesy Everett Collection

1962: 'The Three Stooges in Orbit'

Larry, Moe and Curly Joe foil Martians intent on destroying Disneyland — and the rest of the planet.

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Gabi Rona/mptvimages.com

1963: 'My Favorite Martian'

The TV series features Ray Walston as an anthropologist from Mars who’s stranded on Earth.

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Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

1964: Mariner 4

The spacecraft takes off to capture the first images of Mars from deep space.

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2014 Sesame Workshop. All rights reserved.

1971: Sesame Street’s Yip Yips

These bug-eyed little Martians have terrifying encounters with everyday Earth objects.

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Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

1977: Marvin the Martian

The soft-spoken but evil villain created by Chuck Jones in 1948 costars in the TV special Bugs Bunny in Space.

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TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

1990: 'Total Recall'

Arnold Schwarzenegger travels to Mars to uncover who he really is and why his memory was erased. There he meets Kuato, a deformed humanoid who reads his mind.

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Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

1996: 'Mars Attacks!'

Tim Burton lines up big stars for his parody of sci-fi B movies, based on the cult trading-card series.

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Courtesy Bryan Versteeg/Mars One

2024: Mars One

A one-way trip to Mars? Would you volunteer for a permanent human settlement?

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