Three countries are due to reach Mars in the next two weeks

  • Thread starter Thread starter The Verge RSS
  • Start date Start date
T

The Verge RSS

Guest
Author: Joey Roulette

acastro_210204_4398_mars_0001.0.jpg

A fleet of spacecraft from three countries will reach Mars in February.

A small fleet of spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates, China, and the United States will reach Mars this month after launching from Earth last year. The march to the Red Planet marks a marathon of firsts: it’s the UAE’s first foray into deep space, China’s first independent attempt to land on Mars, and NASA’s first shot at deploying a Martian helicopter.

The rare convoy of Mars-bound spacecraft launched off Earth in a slim, roughly two-month window last summer when Earth and Mars lined up just right in their orbits around the Sun. This planetary alignment only happens once every two years, and three countries took advantage of it in 2020, just as outer space reemerged as a playground for scientific discovery and displays of national...

Continue reading…

Continue reading...