ATK conducts avionics testing of NASAs Space Launch System flight simulation in Clearfield Thursday, April 3, 2014. The Space Launch System is NASAs new vehicle that is being built to take astronauts into deep space, including Mars.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

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Mars has two new alien visitors. MAVEN, the latest United States space vehicle to reach the planet, entered planned orbit on Sept. 21.

Mangalyaan, Indias first Mars mission, reached the Red Planets atmosphere Sept. 25. This is the first initial Mars mission of any nation to succeed. Both spacecraft will collect data while in orbit.

The U.S. rover Spirit landed on Mars on Jan. 4, 2004, after a complex journey of 300 million miles, ending with a perfect touchdown. Partner rover Opportunity came down on the other side of the planet 21 days later.

The two vehicles were expected to survive for approximately 90 days, but instead travelled and transmitted for years. In 2009, Spirit became stuck in soft soil but continued communicating until 2010.

After a year of operation, Opportunity temporarily stalled, its wheels buried in a sand dune. However, engineers on Earth 100 million miles away were able to get the vehicle out. Opportunity remains active, transmitting information back to Earth

In May 2008, after a journey of 10 months and 422 million miles, the Phoenix Lander arrived safely on Mars, as speed of 12,000 miles per hour was slowed to 5 mph before a soft landing. The laboratory Curiosity followed, arriving in August 2012.

Those involved including the University of Arizona, the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) achieved a tremendous triumph. Americans in general should take pride in the accomplishments.

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My view: Space education success on Mars