Spacecraft from the US, China and the UAE arrive on Mars next month. All three countries have different goals on the Red Planet.
Mars, the favorite planet of our Solar System, will be the scene of heavy traffic next month. Three different missions from the US, China and UAE are expected to arrive on the Red Planet in February. While the US and China aim to land on the surface of Mars, the UAE wants to take a smaller step and place a probe in the planet’s orbit.
UAE wants to successfully terminate its first deep space mission
The probe called Hope, launched by the United Arab Emirates last summer, will be placed in the orbit of Mars on February 9, according to current plans. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, UAE aims to take an important step towards the transition to knowledge-based economy with the mission of Hope, which was completed with a cost of 200 million dollars. If the UAE succeeds in the Hope mission, it will go down in history as the fifth country that can reach Mars.
The greatest aim of scientists in the Hope mission is to examine the atmosphere of Mars in detail. It is aimed to follow the changes in weather and climate on a daily basis. It was stated that the Hope mission will provide scientists with invaluable data in the study of the Martian atmosphere and can shed light on the climatic evolution of the Red Planet.
China aims to be the second country capable of landing on Mars
China sent Tianwen-1, one of the largest space missions in its history, into space last summer. Tianwen-1, which is currently stated to be about 5 million kilometers from Mars, will have reached the Red Planet on February 10, according to estimates. China sent three different spacecraft to Mars in Tianwen-1, including an orbital probe, a landing craft and a rover.
The most important part of the mission will of course be the traveler. For the first time in its history, China will attempt to land a spacecraft on another planet. China, which wants to end the US domination in space, will go down in history as the second country that can land a spacecraft on the Red Planet if it succeeds here.
Landing an observatory on Mars makes space agencies incredibly challenging due to the planet’s thin atmosphere. NASA is the most experienced and successful space agency in this field. Even though the Soviet Space Program, NASA and the European Space Agency have tried to land a spacecraft on the Red Planet, only NASA has been successful.
NASA will make a tech show on Mars
The most exciting mission of next month will probably be NASA’s Perseverance mission. “Was there life on Mars?” The Perseverance mission, which will seek an answer to the question, is expected to reach the orbit of the Red Planet on February 18. The Perseverance rover will be lowered into Jezero Crater, which is 49 kilometers wide.
Mars was just like Earth billions of years ago; It is estimated to have a strong atmosphere and oceans. Jezero Crater, where Perseverance will land, will be a very suitable location for research in this sense. Jezero Crater is known to have hosted a large river and lake in the past. Perseverance will study the geology and soil structure of this place, with various equipment on it.
Perhaps the most interesting part of Perseverance is actually not the traveler himself, but the helicopter named Ingenuity, which NASA launched with Perseverance to Mars. The Ingenuity is expected to be the first man-made vehicle to take flight on another planet. If NASA succeeds in Ingenuity, the gates of a completely different era will be opened in the exploration process of the Red Planet.
The Perseverance mission also includes some other interesting details such as the MOXIE equipment that converts carbon dioxide into oxygen, the sending of 11 million names to Mars, the first steps towards the goal of bringing earth from Mars to Earth, and the first high-quality video of the Mars landing process. takes place. You can read all these and more about the task in this article in detail.
