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On the way to Mars.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
July 2020 has been a huge month for March. Taking advantage of its close position in orbit, three missions left Earth during a seven-month trip to the Red Planet. Now these spaceships – NASA’s Perseverance rover, the Chinese space agency Tianwen-1 and the The hope of the United Arab Emirates – arrive at their destination. They are about to uncover the secrets our heavenly neighbor hides in its barren atmosphere and plains, and may even reveal relics of ancient life on the planet’s surface.
Although all three spacecraft manage to orbit Mars this month, NASA’s Perseverance (or “Percy”) is taking center stage. It will be the only mission to land on the surface this month, with an expected arrival date of February 18. Perseverance is based on an impressive story of interplanetary exploration, with its brother rover Curiosity coming nine years to Mars, offering breathtaking photographs and some confusing data.
That doesn’t take anything away from Hope from the UAE, or Al Amal, and Tianwen-1 from China. The two spacecraft are scheduled to perform orbital insertion maneuvers on Mars, or MOI, one day apart on February 9 and 10, respectively. Hope will remain in orbit and analyze the Martian atmosphere, but Tianwen-1 will attempt something only two other nations will achieve: land on the hostile surface of Mars. China is expected to release the Tianwen-1 lander and rover duo in May.
Here’s a recap of the trip to Mars and what we can expect this month.
First place
Every 26 months, the orbits of Earth and Mars align in such a way that space agencies can take advantage of what is called a Hohmann transfer orbit.
“We do this type of transfer orbit to use the least fuel,” James O’Donoghue, planet specialist at the Japanese space agency JAXA, told CNET last year. “It’s like passing a soccer ball to a striker, you have to aim where they’re going to be.”
In July 2020, everything was fitting together perfectly and the three missions were out of it. Some quick facts:
The pace of the launches means that Hope will reach Mars for the first time in February. It is scheduled to perform its MOI on February 9, from 75,000 miles per hour to just 11,200. At approximately 7:42 am PT, the bus-length probe will arrive “at” Mars and begin to transition to the science phase. of the mission. The maneuver is completely self-sufficient, as communication does not work as fast as it does here on Earth – the interplanetary phone call is over 13 minutes late, so Hope will fly alone from a set of predefined instructions.
A little more mysterious is the arrival of Tianwen-1. The Chinese space agency usually doesn’t reveal much information about its activities, even for a potentially historic mission like this. According to Chinese news service CCTV, it will be the second craft to enter orbit on February 10.
Three spaceships, seven months
While most of the science is done when the spacecraft reaches Mars, scientists and engineers have tested their spacecraft’s capability during the cruise phase of the mission. The journey itself is long – covering around 300 million miles (~ 480 million kilometers) – and each agency has a chance to improve the craft’s trajectory for a perfect arrival. What else happened?
Finally and especially
NASA’s Perseverance rover will land on February 18. While NASA has a good track record of landing on the Red Planet over the past few decades, there is no guarantee – Mars is difficult.
“Success is never guaranteed,” Allan Chen, head of engineering for the entry, descent and landing phases of the mission, said at a NASA press conference on Jan. 27. . “This is especially true when we’re trying to land the biggest, heaviest. And most complicated rover we’ve ever built on the most dangerous site we’ve ever attempted to land on.”
The the space agency is waiting for the best landing footage ever, with a camera suite and microphone ready to capture entry, descent, and landing. This is the first time that we can Listen to the sounds of a Martian landing, offering a completely new sensory experience for avid Mars fans. Unfortunately, we will not be able to watch live, as such, but NASA will provide coverage for the moment. We’ve got a comprehensive guide to Mars landing day and what to expect.
NASA’s Perseverance rover ready to explore Mars’ wilderness
See all photos
How to watch NASA’s Perseverance land on Mars
If you’re looking to catch the Perseverance rover touchdown on February 18, we’re here for you and you can access the feed here. And if you’re interested in all of the other great celestial events and rocket launches, we recommend that you sync your calendar with CNET’s space calendar – you’ll never miss a launch again.
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