USA. China and UAE are in the race of Mars Mission
Spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates, China and the United States set sail for Mars last year and are now nearing their destination. The UAE spacecraft is leading the race, reaching Mars orbit on Tuesday. China's Rover Combo spacecraft will enter Mars orbit 24 hours later. Three spacecraft launching from Earth are arriving on Mars this month after traveling millions of miles.
The NASA spacecraft will arrive on Mars about a week later on February 18, from where it will begin its journey back to Earth after collecting rocks and specimens. Samples from Mars could play a key role in determining whether life exists on the planet.
The United Arab Emirates and China are new to the race to reach Mars. China, along with Russia, sent a spacecraft to Mars in 2011 but failed to get out of Earth's orbit.
"We are very excited and engineers and scientists are happy, worried and a little scared," said Imran Sharif, project manager for the UAE Mars Mission.
The three spacecraft, which are scheduled to land on Mars this month, left Earth just a few days apart in July last year. The United States is still the only country to have successfully landed on Mars. The United States began its efforts to reach Mars in 1976 with a program called "Y Kings". Two US spacecraft are still active on the surface of Mars.
NASA has so far made nine attempts to land on the surface of Mars, eight of which have been successful.
A total of six spacecraft are currently orbiting Mars, three from the United States, two from Europe and one from India. The UAE spacecraft will also be in orbit around Mars and will collect its changing weather reports and environmental data.
According to experts, landing on Mars is very difficult and since 1960, space missions of many countries have failed. But in addition to successfully landing on the surface of Mars, some US space missions have been providing information about the Red Planet.
China had earlier sent a spacecraft from Kazakhstan to the Red Planet in 2011 with a Russian space mission. But after failing to get out of Earth's orbit, it collapsed into space and dissolved.
China's "Tianwen-1" consists of two spacecraft that will remain connected to each other until May after reaching Mars orbit. One of its spacecraft will land on Mars in May, and if China succeeds, it will become the second country after the United States to land on Mars. The Chinese mission includes a spacecraft orbiting Mars and a rover landing on the surface of the planet, which will explore the possibility of water and life below the surface of Mars.
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References:
1- https://gulfnews.com/photos/news/photos-china-launches-mars-probe-in-space-race-with-us-1.1595483435878?slide=3
2- https://www.eetindia.co.in/mission-to-mars-new-space-race-between-us-china-uae/
