Mars attracts fans on Earth even though it’s a long-distance love

Mars may be one of our closest neighbors, but its admirers here on Earth are doomed to a long-distance relationship for now.

That hasn’t stopped humans from nursing a centuries-long crush on the planet.

“Mars has been our mirror, our foil, a telltale reflection of what has been deepest in our hearts,” writes planetary scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson. “. . . As a result, Mars has a human history inscribed on its surface, even though no human has ever touched it.”