With missions from three countries expected to reach the Red Planet this month, 2021 will probably be the most illuminating year in the history of Mars research.
Earthlings has been sending probes and robots close to Mars since the 1960s, and has managed to capture images and data about the planet, gradually unraveling the mysteries of its desert.
This mission will search for evidence of past life on Mars, gather a complete picture of the planet’s weather system, prepare soil samples for future missions to take, and even attempt the first flight on Mars (via a small helicopter).
From the United States comes Perseverance, NASA’s fifth Mars rover. In the country’s first independent mission to Mars, China sent Tianwen-1. And the Hope orbiter from the United Arab Emirates will be the first interplanetary mission from any Arab country.
These three missions were launched from Earth in July 2020. Hopefully by the end of 2021, they will teach us a lot of new things about Mars.
NASA Perseverance
“We’re going to a very old region of Mars and we expect that because the climate was warmer and wetter about 3.5 million years ago, which is the age of the rocks we’re looking at, if it has the chance to come. This might be a good place to look for that evidence,” said Mitch Schulte, Mars 2020 program scientist at NASA.
Once the rover lands, it will check to make sure its parts and scientific instruments are working, which could take a month or two, but once ready the search for past life can begin.
Perseverance is equipped with cameras, lasers and other instruments to help it examine Mars and scan for atomic traces left by tiny living things.
Schulte is in charge of the process that determines what instruments will be included in the rover.
The process was completed in 2014, two years after the team began developing this mission.
Mars has a lot of carbon dioxide, but little oxygen. So Perseverance will use a tool called MOXIE.
“This device takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, compresses it, and then uses a solid oxide electrolysis cell to release oxygen,” said Schulte.
If the test is successful, MOXIE could be used to provide future astronauts with breathable air.
Oxygen is also a vital component of rocket fuel.
If spacecraft could be launched from Earth with less fuel for the return journey, they would be able to carry more cargo with the same amount of fuel or alternatively require less fuel thanks to lighter loads.
Eventually, a mission will be sent to retrieve 43 sample tubes which Perseverance will fill and keep within itself until they are ready to be abandoned.
Scientists on Earth must determine where to collect samples, and where and when to place them.
If the samples aren’t saved and something unexpected happens to the rover, they won’t be accessible to the pick-up mission, explains Meyer.
By the end of the year, we may have an idea of where the samples will be waiting for their crossing back to Earth.
Tianwen-1 Mission
While China’s National Space Administration has not yet made much information publicly available about Tianwen-1, the agency has released its main purpose and what it will launch.
Between the orbiter and the rover, Tianwen-1 will use a variety of cameras, radar and other tools to examine Mars’ soil, structure, and climate, particularly for the presence of water and ice on the planet’s soil, according to an article published in Nature Astronomy.
Once the lander settles down, the ramps will allow the explorer to roll onto the surface of Utopia Planitia, a vast plain hundreds of miles northwest where Curiosity has explored and northeast where Perseverance is headed.
Despite having little information about the Tianwen-1 mission, Meyer said the fact that the rover went somewhere new was interesting.
“Let’s face it, every time you send an explorer and land somewhere where someone hasn’t landed before, you’re learning something new, because now you’re seeing a new place up close and personal,” he said.
Meanwhile, the orbiter will serve as a communication relay between the rover and Earth. He will also observe Mars to help analyze the planet’s atmosphere and subsurface.
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