2020 is the year of Mars, especially July and August are mars launching seasons. United Arab Emirates, China, and United States all have mars exploration programs. Each of these countries has related tasks to complete.
Washington, D.C. (Merxwire) – In recent years, Mars exploration has been the goal of many countries. According to NASA data, 2020 is the year of Mars, and mid-July to mid-August is also this year’s mars launching season. This period is the time to successfully send the spacecraft to Mars. It is called “Mars launch window”. What important mars exploration programs are currently being launched or will be launched soon? Discover a new world with Merxwire!
The Hope Spacecraft of United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates launched the first spacecraft to Mars from Japan on 19 July 2020 at 21:58:14 UTC. This spacecraft symbolizes the country’s ambitions for space projects, aimed at studying the weather on Mars as it evolves throughout the planet’s year.
The spacecraft is named “Hope”. From Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center at the launch site, it is expected to fly 493 million kilometers and arrive at an elongated orbit around mars in February 2021. The United Arab Emirates hopes to use the mission to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
The “Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre” is leading this Mars exploration mission. Although the launch time was 1:58 in the morning in the United Arab Emirates, a large number of people still watched the launch through TV and the Internet. When the rockets and probes separated successfully, they cheered and looked forward to the successful completion of the mission by Spacecraft of Hope.
The Tianwen-1 Spacecraft of China
China’s Tianwen-1 Spacecraft was launched on 23 July 2020, 04:41:00 UTC. The main goal of this spacecraft is to survey geology, use radar to survey the strata of Mars, collect samples of rocks and soil, draw maps of the Martian geological structure, and explore Martian magnetic field, thus unlocking the evolution history of Martian magnetic field.
This is China’s first Mars exploration mission. It is hoped that this mission can achieve the goal of circling Mars, landing, and performing Mars surface exploration and data collection. If can find signs of life in the present or the past, it is also a great gain.
Tianwen-1 use a combination of a capsule, parachute and a retro-rocket to reduce entry speed. If all goes well, it can successfully land, enable the rover to begin its traverse across the Martian plain, and it is expected to orbit Martian in February 2021 and orbit for two months.
The Perseverance Spacecraft of United States
The US “Perseverance” spacecraft will implement NASA’s fifth Mars exploration mission plan, which is expected to be launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA between the end of July and mid-August. It will be on the surface of Mars in mid-February 2021.
Perseverance’s design is based on Curiosity, a successful NASA mission that landed on Mars in 2012. Perseverance will carry seven scientific instruments to study the Martian surface at Jezero crater. Although the launch time was delayed due to the impact of COVID-19, scientists still look forward to this mission.
Perseverance can use the suspension system to overcome obstacles, and use six separate aluminum wheels, so that rover can turn a full 360 degrees in place. The rover will also be accompanied by the helicopter Ingenuity, which are of great help to the exploration and learning of Perseverance.
Humans have been using telescopes to observe Mars since the 1600s. On November 27, 1971, the Soviet Union’s Mars 2 crashed on the surface of Mars. On December 2, 1971, the Soviet Mars 3 successfully landed on Mars and became the first probe to reach Mars. On September 3, 1976, Viking 1 landed on the surface of Mars and became the first probe to send photos back to Earth. As human technology becomes more advanced, we may be able to unlock the secrets of the universe in the near future.
Reference materials:
https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53394737
https://www.space.com/china-tianwen-1-mars-mission-launch.html