The Chinese orbiter will also investigate the Martian atmosphere. On February 10, 2021, the Tianwen-1 orbiter entered its orbit of Mars. China's Tianwen-1 Mars probe Image: CNSA/dpa/picture alliance It's formed a number of international collaborations with universities in the USA and elsewhere to help it do that. It's also pegged to the UAE's ambition of moving away from a hydrocarbon economy towards a knowledge-based economy. It will spend two years running tests at various altitudes and aims to provide the global science community with the first complete picture of the Martian atmosphere. It was the first of these three missions to successfully arrive at Mars when it entered the planet's orbit on February 9, 2021. The Emirates Mars Mission involves a satellite called Hope. The Mars helicopter is more like a drone, but it's hoped it will deliver valuable knowledge about flying on another world Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech Collaborating endeavors Whether it works or not is almost irrelevant at this stage, because no matter what happens, it will be the first time any spacefaring nation will have tested flight "on another world," as the American space agency has described it.īeyond that, those test flights will potentially pave the way for future missions with astronauts going to Mars and coming back, even if that's in 30 years' time. That's significant because the atmosphere there is far thinner than that on Earth, and that can affect flight - the amount of power and lift you need, and the speed at which the helicopter blades rotate. The helicopter is an experimental device that NASA wants to use to learn about taking off and flying in the Martian atmosphere. Then, there's that helicopter, Ingenuity, strapped to the belly of the rover. The Perseverance rover drilling for rock: It's the first step in USA/European missions to bring Martian samples back to Earth Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/picture alliance It will also collect rock and soil samples and deposit them in canisters, which - it is planned - will be collected by joint US and European missions and brought back to Earth within the next 10 years. The rover will search for water and other signs of life below the surface of the planet. And they have gone straight for the jugular, and that with an added bonus.įirst, it's landed Perseverance, NASA's largest-ever Mars rover. The UAE's Hope Probe: One of three current Mars missions Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centreīy far the more experienced Mars explorer is the USA. But as mentioned above, Tianwen-1 will also attempt to land a rover on Mars later this year. The UAE and Chinese missions are centered around spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet. Aside from NASA's Mars 2020, there is the Emirates Mars Mission and China's Tianwen-1. Three Mars missions launched in July 2020. That's where China intends to land its first Mars rover in May. Utopia Planitia is also not too far away, relatively speaking. But Curiosity is about 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) away at Gale Crater. It's a region well-traveled by American landers, including the Curiosity rover, which is still active. This photo made available by NASA shows the first image sent by the Perseverance rover showing the surface of Mars, just after landing in the Jezero crater Image: NASA/AP Photo/picture alliance Martian duo: NASA's new rover, Perseverance, and helicopter, Ingenuity Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech Popular landing siteĪs planned, Perseverance landed at Jezero Crater, just north of the Martian equator, in a region called Isidis Planitia. A parachute and a powered descent mechanism then slowed the rover to about 3 km/h before a large sky crane lowered it on three bridle cords down to the surface of the planet, touching down on its six wheels. To land on Mars, the rover started its descent at a speed of over 20,000 kilometers per hour (12,000 miles per hour). But it was another two hours before the USA's latest rover, Perseverance, touched down on the surface of Mars at 20:56 UTC. The "show," as NASA put it, started late morning Pacific Time (early evening in Central Europe). It's the USA's largest Mars rover and it's carrying the first-ever Mars helicopter. It may be last but by no means least - NASA's Mars 2020 is the third mission to have successfully arrived at the Red Planet in the space of 10 days.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |