Last July, three missions headed to Mars Hope a project of the United Arab Emirates with American technology Tianwen-1 China’s first foray into the red planet and Mars 2020 inside which the new NASA rover the Perseverance travels. That they coincided in date is not the result of chance at this time there was an astronomical event that occurs every two years and in which Earth and Mars are placed in a very close trajectory, so travel times are considerably shortened. Now, seven months later, the three probes will finally reach their destination in what will be a historic week in the exploration of Mars.
First To Arrive: United Arab Emirates
The first to arrive will be the probe Hope hope in English which, although it will be the only one of the three that does not set foot on Martian soil, will try to reveal the mechanisms that occur in our neighbor from its sky. Its goal is to reach a high Martian orbit to be able to monitor the weather for a whole year. But getting it will not be easy Hope faces this Tuesday around 5:00 p.m.
peninsular time his most critical and complex maneuver, according to those responsible in the United Arab Emirates, since it has a 50% chance of success. The ship must drastically reduce its speed from 121,000 kilometers per hour to about 18,000 km / h to be captured by Martian gravity and take a cruise speed that will allow it to scan the red planet from space. And Spain will be the first place on Earth to know if your company has come to fruition since the probe will communicate directly with our planet through the antennas that NASA has in Robledo de Chavela
We are very excited as engineers and scientists, but also quite stressed, worried, and scared said Omran Sharaf, project manager for the United Arab Emirates who was also very satisfied that the project was designed in the Although much of the technology has been developed in collaboration with the University of Colorado Boulder and other US institutions. Also, his arrival on Mars coincides with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the country.
China’s First Time On The Red Planet
Just 24 hours later the Tianwen1 spacecraft will also reach Martian orbit. It is China’s first project on Mars and consists of an orbiter, a lander, and a small rover whose name will be decided soon after a popular vote throughout the country whose main objective is to study the characteristics of the surface and the possible distribution of water ice in the Martian subsoil. It also carries panoramic and multispectral cameras and instruments to analyze the composition of rocks. All aimed at finding remains of life both present and past, on the red planet. However, it will not be until May when it makes landfall on the plain of the northern hemisphere Utopia Planitia a low elevation terrain that also keeps a huge reserve of frozen water in the subsoil.
The Tianwen-1 mission is the first step for the country to independently carry out interplanetary exploration they say from the China National Space Administration It will orbit land and patrol Mars they add in a statement posted on their website. For now, the probe has already sent its first image of the red planet, taken during the final approach maneuver.
