There are three countries in the world that competing to launch exploration missions to Mars.
They are China, the United States (US), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Last summer, the trio launched their space mission to the Red planet. The plan for the space mission will land on the surface of Mars this February.
Each country has its own mission :
- The US or NASA plans to launch its helicopters on Mars,
- China is trying to launch its independent landings
- The UAE was trying its first attempt at a space mission.
The launch of a space mission occurs in the summer when the planets Earth and Mars align in their orbits around the sun. This natural condition, which only occurs once in two years, is used by a number of countries to carry out space launches.
The UAE launched the mission using the Japanese-made H-IIA rocket named Hope. Hope is scheduled to orbit on February 9. Hope has the size of a car.
The UAE became the first Arab country to conduct multi-planetary research by sending spacecraft to the Red planet. By involved as many as 450 engineers in the development and testing of Hope, the UEA also works closely with teams from various American universities such as the University of Colorado, the University of California, and the State University of Arizona.
The program received a grant of USD 200 million from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center.
After the United Arab Emirates, there is a space mission from China, namely Tianwen-1, which will arrive on the planet Mera on February 10. The spacecraft, which weighs 5 tons, will soon orbit Mars.
The mission of the Chinese fleet aims to research an area of Mars called the Utopia Planitia which is claimed to be a place that has water reservoirs under the surface of Mars.
This mission is called the most daring mission undertaken by China because it will operate a robot rover on the surface of Mars to detect water.
Explorers from the US space agency, NASA will also soon arrive at the surface of Mars.
NASA is carrying an explorer called Percy who is scheduled to land on February 18 at the Delta site, a site claimed to be home to the remains of past life. For NASA, the Mars landing mission is its 9th mission.
