With the aim of better understanding and finding traces of life on Mars, three robotic missions from Earth will arrive this Tuesday and during February a feat that if achieved, will become a historic moment for humanity.
On the one hand, the Esperanza probe, from the United Arab Emirates, plans to arrive in the orbit of Mars on February 9, seven months after its launch becoming the first to approach the three missions scheduled for February. If Esperanza succeeds in reaching orbit, the Emirates will become the fifth country to reach Mars, and China the sixth, the following day. So far, only the United States, India the former Soviet Union, and the European Space Agency have managed to reach the red planet.
After takeoff from Japan, the Al-Amal or Hope probe in English will have to carry out its most critical and complex maneuver according to Emirati officials, with a chance in two of getting into orbit. The device must break hard to be captured in the gravity of Mars, firing its six Delta-V thrusters for 27 minutes to reduce its speed from 121,000 km / h to only about 18,000. This process which will consume half of its fuel will begin on Tuesday at 3:30 (GMT) and it will take 11 minutes for the signal of its progress to reach the control room on Earth.
Already the monuments of the Emirates are illuminated in red and the hashtag #ArabstoMars dominates the government social media accounts. For its part, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai the world’s tallest skyscraper will be the center of a show for the occasion.
The head of the project of the Emirati mission declared that it supposed immense happiness for Esperanza to be the first mission to reach the star. For us, it was not a race. We approached the space as an idea of collaboration and inclusion he added. Although the probe is created to provide a complete picture of the planet’s meteorological dynamics, the mission is the basis of a much more ambitious goal the construction of a human colony on Mars in the next 100 years. Emirates which seeks to consolidate its status as a key regional actor also intends this project to serve as an inspiration for Arab youth, in a region shaken by conflict and economic crisis. Esperanza will be in orbit around the planet for at least one Martian year, or 687 days. Do you read us from the app? See here the video of the mission Hope.
The Missions Of China And The USA.
For its part, the Chinese probe Tianwen-1 has already sent the first image of Mars in black and white that shows geological features especially the Schiaparelli crater and the Valles Marineris, a series of canyons near the equator of the red planet. Tianwen-1 is made up of three elements an orbiter a lander and a wheeled remote-controlled robot that, for three months will analyze the planet’s soil and atmosphere. Beijing expects the 240-kilogram robot to land in Utopia a plain on Mars in May.
While Perseverance, NASA’s mission should land on the red planet on February 18. If so, it will become the fifth American robot to achieve the goal since 1997. It is on an astrobiological mission to search for microbial life remnants and will attempt to launch the 1.8-kilogram helicopter-drone Ingenuity into the Martian air.
The historical thing for humanity is that it is the first time that three countries arrive with their probes on the red planet in the same month and that whatever the final destination of the ships when they touch the surface they will transmit before this camera recordings and microphones, which will provide new insights into Mars.
