After dashing through hundreds of millions of miles through space since last summer, three robotic explorers are all set to hit the brakes at the Red Planet.
The stakes, as well as anxiety, according to Firstpost, are said to be "sky high." Orbiter of the United Arab Emirates is expected to reach Mars on Tuesday, followed by China's orbiter-rover combo after less than 24 hours.
The rover, cosmic caboose of NASA, is set to arrive on the site one week after, on February 18, to retrieve rocks to be returned to Earth, a fundamental step to determine if life indeed ever existed on Mars.
Both China and the UAE are considered newcomers at the Red Planet, where more than half of Earth's emissaries are unsuccessful.
First Mars Mission of China
The first Mars mission of China, a joint initiative in 2011 with Russia, never made it past Earth's orbit. According to project manager Omran Sharaf from the UAE, they are quite excited as scientists and engineers, at the same time quite stressed and happy, apprehensive and scared.
All of the said three spacecraft reportedly rocketed within days of one another in July 2020, during an Earth-to-Mars launch window that takes place only every two years. This is the same reason why their arrivals are said to be so close together.
Amal, or Hope in Arabic, the Gulf nation's spacecraft is searching for a particularly high orbit, about 13,500 by 27,000 miles high, all better to observe the Martian weather.
Meanwhile, the duo of China, also known as Tianwen-1 or 'Quest for Heavenly Truth,' will stay paired in orbit until May, when the rover gets separated to go down the "dusty, ruddy surface."
If everything falls into place, it will be just the second nation to land on Mars successfully. On the contrary, Perseverance, the US rover will "dive in straight away for a narrowing sky-crane touchdown," the same as the grand Martian entrance of the Curiosity rover in 2012. The possibilities are in favor of NASA-it has nailed eight of its nine attempted landings on Mars.
Perseverance and Tianwen-1 Rovers
Regardless of their differences, the one-ton perseverance is huger and more elaborate than the Tianwen-1 rover; both will look for signs of "ancient, microscopic life.
Essentially, the $3-billion mission of Perseverance is the first leg in the United States-European initiative to bring samples from Mars to Earth in the next 10 years.
NASA's planetary science director Lori Glaze said, to say, "we're pumped about it, well that would be a major understatement.
Perseverance targets an ancient river delta that appears to be a logical spot for once harboring life. This landing zone in Jezero Center is entirely deceitful that NASA nixed it for Curiosity, although so enticing that researchers are keen to hold off its rocks.
When researchers take a look at a site like Jezero Crater, said Al Chen, the one in charge of the entry, descent, and landing group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA in Pasadena, California, "they see the promise, right?" Each time he looks at Jezero, the expert said, he sees danger.
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