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<br />The <keyword id="6625456" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mars-Orbiter-Mission">Mars Orbiter Mission</keyword> (MOM), the <keyword id="116095" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Space-Research-Organisation">Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword>’s (ISRO’s) first interplanetary mission, <a href="https://www.isro.gov.in/update/24-sep-2018/mars-orbiter-mission-mom-completes-4-years-its-orbit" data-type="tilCustomLink">completed 4 years</a> on Monday. This mission made <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> the first country to enter the red planet’s orbit on its first attempt as well as the first Asian country to have sent a spacecraft into <keyword id="47638" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword>’ orbit. <br /><br /><div type="Youtube" id="p6iSYiSQUF8" title="India's Mars Orbiter Mission completes 4 years" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p6iSYiSQUF8/mqdefault.jpg"></div>

<br />To mark the occasion, ISRO shared some pictures from the <keyword id="1927478" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mars-Colour-Camera">Mars Colour Camera</keyword> (MCC) on board the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft (MOS). <br /><br />In order to fulfil its mission of collecting data to study the Martian atmosphere and observe the red planet's physical features, the MOS also carries a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer, methane sensor for Mars, Mars exospheric neutral composition analyser and a Lyman Alpha photometer.<br /><br />Here are some of the images that have been captured so far:<br /><br />

Mars Orbiter Mission completes 4 years: In pictures

<br /> <keyword id="6358064" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="ISRO">ISRO</keyword>’s <keyword id="6625456" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mars-Orbiter-Mission">Mars Orbiter Mission</keyword> (MOM), informally called Mangalyaan, is all set to enter the orbit of Mars on September 24.<br />
<br /> The <keyword id="823674" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kerala-State-Science-and-Technology-Museum">Kerala State Science and Technology Museum</keyword> (KSSTM) is planning various programmes on September 23 and 24 to mark the event. It has collaborated with <keyword id="833847" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Vigyan-Prasar">Vigyan Prasar</keyword>, an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology, and the Rajya Sabha TV to telecast special programmes.<br />
<br />
“KSSTM is one of six centres which are part of this programme. Live telecasts of various events that we are planning and comments by experts and also the public will be aired from 10.30 am on September 23 to 4 pm on September 24 from the campus,’’ said KSSTM Director Arul Jerald Prakash.<br />
<br />
The Mangalyaan will enter the orbit of Mars shortly after 7 am on September 24, however, it will be difficult to spot the planet in the morning sky.<br />
<br />
ISRO had earlier said that the MOM spacecraft was in the “pink of health,” and was sending crucial information from a distance of 211 million km after having covered 95% of its journey.<br />
<br />
Here is a timeline of the Mars mission:<br />
·         November 5, 2013: MOM launched aboard PSLV-C 25 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. <br />
·         December 4, 2013: Exits Earth’s sphere of influence. <br />
·         February 11, 2014: Completes 100 days. <br />
·         April 9: Covered 50% of its journey<br />
·         September 24: Set to enter the orbit of Mars<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for more!<br />

Mangalyaan’s Rendezvous With Mars

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-space-station-nears-completion-sharpens-us-china-space-rivalry-2022-5">China</a>'s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-succeeded-in-photographing-mars-tianwen-1-ice-cap-2022-1">Mars orbiter</a> has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-zhurong-rover-mars-photos-2021-5">imaged</a> the entire red planet, according to state media.</li><li>The <keyword id="14325130" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tianwen-1" source="Orion">Tianwen-1</keyword> mission — the orbiter and a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-first-mars-landing-zhurong-rover-and-lander-2021-5">rover</a> — met its scientific goals, state media said.</li></ul><p><keyword id="11892748" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword>'s Mars-orbiting <keyword id="12179462" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spacecraft" source="Orion">spacecraft</keyword> has beamed back stunning images of the red planet's most distinctive features, and they're just a sample of its new photo library.</p><p>The Tianwen-1 orbiter spacecraft has imaged the entire planet of <keyword id="12055530" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mars" source="Orion">Mars</keyword>, the China Aerospace <keyword id="11896083" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="science" source="Orion">Science</keyword> and Technology Corporation said on <a href="https://weibo.com/5386897742/LzX5XiLpw">Weibo</a> on Wednesday. China released a handful of the orbiter's images from across the Martian surface with the announcement.</p><div type="image" title="craters on mars top-down view from space" height="810" width="1080" msid="92557473" hostid="261" sizebytes="45110"></div><p>Since falling into its <keyword id="12578367" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="orbit" source="Orion">orbit</keyword> there in February 2021, the spacecraft has circled Mars more than 1,300 times, Chinese state media <a href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-06-29/China-s-Mars-probe-Tianwen-1-completes-mission-1bfTxK5ywtW/index.html">reported</a>. The orbiter brought a <keyword id="12145882" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rover" source="Orion">rover</keyword> to Mars as well, dropping it into Utopia Planitia, a vast field of ancient volcanic rock that may have extensive reserves of water frozen beneath its surface. The rover, named Zhurong for ancient Chinese mythology's god of fire, aimed to explore the region and search for its water ice with ground-penetrating radar.</p><div type="image" title="ridges of brown red sand on mars with two rover antennae in the foreground" height="462" width="1080" msid="92557474" hostid="261" sizebytes="31888"></div><p>If space agencies like NASA or <keyword id="12911098" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="china-national-space-administration" source="Orion">China National Space Administration</keyword> someday send humans to Mars, water would be a crucial resource. It can both sustain astronauts and be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel. It's unlikely Mars-bound spaceships could carry enough water, oxygen, and hydrogen for the entire journey there and back, so they would likely need to mine it on Mars.</p><div type="image" title="wavy sheet of ice on mars view from space" height="810" width="1080" msid="92557475" hostid="261" sizebytes="25322"></div><p>The Zhurong rover traveled nearly 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) before going into hibernation to save its energy through Mars's hyper-cold winter, according to state media. The rover is expected to power back up in December, when Martian spring arrives.</p><p>This was the first Mars mission to send a spacecraft into the planet's orbit, drop a landing platform onto the Martian surface, and deploy a rover all in one expedition.</p><div type="image" title="china tianwen 1 mission orbiter with lander rover capsule" height="1500" width="2000" msid="92557476" hostid="261" sizebytes="87138"></div><p>Craters were a prominent feature in the images, of course. The below image shows the rim of the ancient Maunder crater, which is about 56 miles (90 kilometers) wide and is partially filled with dust, sand, and other Mars material.</p><div type="image" title="black and white image from space shows craggy crater rim on mars with smooth sand inside" height="918" width="1080" msid="92557477" hostid="261" sizebytes="112052"></div><p>One image captures a stunning view of the Valles Marineris canyon system, which is almost as long as the United States is wide. The canyons there reach up to 4 miles deep. For perspective, the Grand Canyon on Earth is just 1 mile deep.</p><div type="image" title="top-down space view of canyon cutting across orange mars landscape" height="810" width="1080" msid="92557479" hostid="261" sizebytes="34118"></div><p>Both Tianwen-1 robots, on the Martian ground and in its orbit, have completed their scientific missions, state media reported Wednesday. The orbiter has beamed 1,040 gigabytes of raw data back to Earth, which CNSA will eventually release publicly, state media said.</p><p>For now, the mission's findings are not clear.</p>

China's Mars spacecraft has photographed the entire red planet, state media says

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/mutimedia_news/201608/t20160824_166702.shtml">Chinese State Administration of Science/Xinhua</a></span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of China's planned robotic Mars mission, called HX-1.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> recently landed the first spacecraft on the far side of the moon and plans to launch a lunar sample-return mission at the end of the year.</li><li>The China National Space Administration is also working on a robotic <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/mars-mission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mars mission</a> that is scheduled to launch in mid-2020 and arrive in early 2021.</li><li>If successful, that mission could enable future Mars missions to bring pristine samples of the red planet's soil and rocks back to Earth by 2030.</li></ul><p>China just <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-moon-mission-lunar-landing-far-side-change4-2018-12">landed a robotic mission</a> on the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dark-vs-far-side-moon-lunar-night-science-2019-1">far side of the moon</a> for the first time in history, but the nation is plotting a longer list of ambitious firsts in space over the next decade.</p><p>At the end of 2019, the China National Space Administration intends to launch a follow-up Chang'e 5 mission to scoop up the nation's first samples of lunar soil and return them to Earth. It's also planning follow-up moon missions to retrieve more samples, scout for water, and examine possible locations for a lunar base for humans, according to <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/14/c_137743015.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese state media</a>.</p><p>But the country is already looking past the moon, toward Mars.</p><p>"China's first Mars exploration mission will be implemented around 2020," Wu Yanhua, the agency's deputy director, said during <a href="http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n6758967/n6758969/n6760061/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a briefing</a> on Monday.</p><p>That interplanetary mission is called the Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover, or HX-1.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong></em>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rocket-launches-meteor-showers-2019-space-calendar-2018-11">An extraordinary year of rocket launches, meteor showers, and space exploration is here. This is a 2019 calendar of space events you can't miss.</a></p><p>A <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ger_2018_small_mobile.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">January 2018 roadmap</a> assembled by NASA and other members of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group describes the HX-1 mission as an "orbit, landing, and roving mission," which would probe Mars' "topographical and geological features, physical fields and internal structure, atmosphere, ionosphere, climate and environment." </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/mutimedia_news/201608/t20160824_166702.shtml">Chinese State Administration of Science/Xinhua</a></span></p><p class="caption">An artist's concept of China's HX-1 Mars mission spacecraft departing Earth.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The mission plans call for sending a lander, rover, and satellite to Mars, with the lander and rover traveling to the red planet aboard the orbiter. Once the satellite arrives at Mars and enters orbit, a landing capsule would depart from the orbiter. Then it would scream through the planet's atmosphere, deploy a supersonic parachute, and rocket the lander-rover spacecraft to the Martian surface.</p><p>The rover would then roll off the top of the lander, a process similar to Chang'e 4 and Chinese lunar-landing missions before it. The solar-powered, six-wheeled vehicle would be equipped with ground-penetrating radar to study Mars' internal structure and look for pockets of water ice, according to <a href="http://english.gov.cn/news/video/2016/08/24/content_281475424665899.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">state media</a>.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/mutimedia_news/201608/t20160824_166702.shtml">Chinese State Administration of Science/Xinhua</a></span></p><p class="caption">A rendering of China's HX-1 rover exploring Mars.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>China's space agency <a href="http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n6758824/n6758845/c6772477/content.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">describes</a> its 2020 Mars mission as a key part of future efforts to scoop up and launch Martian rocks and soil back to Earth - in part to determine if and when life was present on the red planet. Chinese scientists hope to get their hands on what may be the first-ever pristine samples of Martian soil by 2030, according <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a14506608/united-states-china-racing-first-sample-from-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to Popular Mechanics</a>.</p><p>Some researchers believe that the sites of ancient <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/martian-oasis-water-extraterrestrial-life-2017-5">oasis-like pools</a> on Mars are the best places to dig in search of fossilized remains of microbial Martian life, if it exists.</p><h2>Getting to and landing on Mars is ridiculously hard</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Samantha Lee/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">About one third of all missions to Mars - launched by the US, Russia, Europe, and China - have failed. This tally does not include InSight, which is ongoing.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>HX-1 is scheduled to launch in July or August of next year. At that time, the distance between Earth and Mars - and the energy required to reach the red planet - will be near its minimum.</p><p>This launch window is roughly the same as that of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-mars-2020-rover-landing-site-jezero-crater-2018-11">NASA's Mars 2020 rover</a>, which is a car-size, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-plutonium-fuel-automation-oak-ridge-energy-department-2019-1">nuclear-powered</a> robot that will set up the US for a Martian soil-sample return. NASA is the most recent entity to successfully reach Mars with its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-insight-mars-probe-landing-successful-science-mission-2018-11">InSight lander</a>; that spacecraft is designed to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-insight-mars-lander-may-solve-earth-mysteries-2018-11">listen for Mars quakes</a> and deploy a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-insight-mars-850-million-dollar-drill-2018-11">"mole" probe</a> to investigate the planet's internal structure.</p><p>HX-1 wouldn't mark China's first attempt to reach Mars.</p><p>It previously partnered with Russia to launch a Mars-orbiting satellite called Yinghuo-1. The spacecraft shared space on a Russian mission (called Fobos-Grunt) headed toward the red planet. Although Russia's rocket successfully launched the payload into low-Earth orbit, its engines <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-phobos-grunt-2011-11">failed to propel</a> the joint Russian-Chinese mission toward Mars.</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mars-facts-statistics-2017-5"> 13 incredible facts you should know about the red planet</a></em></p><p>If China can successfully pull off the landing of HX-1, it would be only the third nation ever to touch down on the Martian surface.</p><p>But experts say Mars is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-insight-mars-mission-landing-when-what-time-2018-11">one of the most difficult planets to land on</a>, since it has an atmosphere that's thick enough to burn up a spacecraft, yet is too thin to completely slow down a mission during reentry (as can happen on Earth). In fact, roughly half of the missions that attempt to reach Mars don't make it.</p><p>One of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-russia-mars-landing-possible-failure-2016-10">latest failed landings</a> was a European probe called Schiaparelli. Its rocket thrusters turned on prematurely, causing it to fall toward the surface from a mile high, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mars-lander-explosion-esa-2016-10">then crash and explode</a>.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-if-earth-had-two-moons-tides-sea-level-collision-2019-1">A city in China wants to launch an artificial moon into orbit by 2020 - here's what would happen if Earth really did have two moons</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

China wants to launch to Mars next year - part of an ambitious plan to bring the first Martian soil samples back to Earth

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="6354870" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="United-Arab-Emirates">United Arab Emirates</keyword>' first interplanetary mission, a <keyword id="6375764" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spacecraft">spacecraft</keyword> called Hope, reached <keyword id="47638" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword> on Tuesday.</li><li>The orbiter is set to map <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-caused-nasa-mars-mole-failure-soil-dusty-solar-panels-2021-1">Mars' climate</a> across an entire Martian year. </li><li>It's the first of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/three-mars-missions-arrive-february-from-nasa-china-uae-2021-1">three Mars missions</a> expected to reach the <keyword id="46100" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="planet">planet</keyword> in the next two weeks.</li></ul><p>The United Arab Emirates has flown a spacecraft into orbit around Mars, marking a first for the Arab world and a major accomplishment for the country's young space program.</p><p>The <keyword id="9569895" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hope-probe">Hope probe</keyword> - "Al-Amal" in Arabic - launched from Tanegashima Island in Japan on July 20, then journeyed seven months to the next planet over.</p><p>With Mars in its sights, the SUV-sized spacecraft fired all six of its Delta V thrusters for about 27 minutes on Tuesday, burning through half of its fuel to slow its speed by more than 2,100 mph.</p><p>In the days leading up to this braking maneuver, Emirati officials estimated a 50-50 chance of success, according to <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/the-uae-s-hope-probe-expected-to-win-the-2020-race-to-mars">Agence France-Presse</a>. If the maneuver had failed, the probe could have crashed into Mars or careened past it into deep space.</p><p>Instead, the spacecraft fell into an oval-shaped orbit around Mars on Tuesday morning. A signal confirming its success reached mission controllers on Earth at 11:14 a.m. ET.</p><p>Hope is the UAE Space Agency's first major mission. It aims to orbit the red planet for a full Martian year (about two Earth years) and create a comprehensive map of the planet's climate.</p><p>"It's the very first holistic weather satellite of Mars," Sarah Al Amiri, the mission's <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> lead, told <a href="https://www.space.com/hope-uae-mars-mission-interview-sarah-al-amiri">Space.com</a>.</p><p>The probe's unique orbit will allow it to monitor any given region of Mars for hours at a time, watching in infrared, ultraviolet, and visible light as clouds drift by and enormous dust storms roil through the red desert.</p><p>The UAE aims for Hope to map weather across the entire planet, through all times of day, over the full Martian year. If successful, this will be humanity's first such picture of the Martian climate.</p><p>"It is the time factor that has largely been missing from our knowledge and understanding of the weather system of Mars," Al Amiri said. "During every single time slot of the day, we want to know what happens across an entire day, because weather as we know it is a very dynamic system. We also want to understand what happens in different seasons on Mars. And that requires us to collect data across an entire year."</p><p>That data could help scientists better understand Mars' changing seasons and learn how the planet lost the thick atmosphere that protected it 4 billion years ago. Back then, the Martian surface may have been warm enough for liquid water, and scientists think the planet could have supported microbial life.</p><p>The UAE is now the fifth country to reach Mars. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/three-mars-missions-arrive-february-from-nasa-china-uae-2021-1">China is set to follow</a> as the sixth Mars-faring nation on Wednesday, when its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-tianwen-1-probe-first-picture-image-planet-mars-2021-2">Tianwen-1 spacecraft</a> is slated to insert itself into orbit around the planet. (Stay tuned for the Tianwen-1 rover landing in May.)</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-perseverance-rover-will-land-on-mars-2021-2">NASA's new Mars rover</a>, Perseverance, is set to touch down on the planet's surface next week. In terms of visitors from Earth, this is the busiest month in Martian history.</p><h2>Hope can monitor Martian weather up close and from afar</h2><p>Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, announced in 2014 that the country would be going to Mars. The decree came with a deadline - 2021 - to commemorate the nation's 50th anniversary.</p><div type="image" title="hope probe uae mars mission launch h-2a rocket Tanegashima Space Center japan" height="3968" width="2628" msid="80773005" hostid="261"></div><p>The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center was tasked with developing and building the Mars-bound spacecraft. Engineers there equipped the orbiter with three scientific instruments to study Martian weather in infrared light, capture high-resolution photos, and measure atmosphere loss in ultraviolet.</p><p>The probe's irregular, or "elliptical," orbit will allow it to capture a unique picture of Martian weather and climate over time.</p><p>"When you're very close to Mars, you're moving as fast as Mars is turning on its axis, and therefore, you observe one side of Mars during multiple times of the day. And as you get farther away and you get slower, we observe several time zones on Mars in several locations," Al Amiri told Space.com. "We keep on doing this over the course of an entire 10-day window, and by 10 days, we've fully mapped everywhere on Mars during every time of the day."</p><p>As Hope circles Mars, completing an orbit once every 55 hours, the satellite will look for links between weather events in the lower atmosphere and the amount of hydrogen and oxygen bleeding into space from the planet's upper atmosphere. This could offer clues about the process that caused the planet to lose most of its atmosphere billions of years ago.</p><p>Hope will also monitor the Martian atmosphere's interactions with charged particles from the sun. Such interactions drive <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-nasa-launching-new-spacecraft-toward-the-sun-2020-1">space weather</a> around Earth and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/solar-eruption-storm-could-bring-aurora-to-northern-us-2020-12">cause the aurora borealis</a>.</p><p>The UAE might even be able to extend Hope's mission into a second Martian year, crafting new goals based on what the probe finds during its first year.</p>

The United Arab Emirates' Mars probe just entered orbit around the red planet, the first in a Mars-mission bonanza

<br /><ul><li><strong>Prime Minister Modi announced during his Independence Day address this year that India would send its first manned mission to space by 2022. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>The overall cost of the mission, which will involve a crew of three astronauts orbiting Earth for seven days, was pegged at $1.4 billion on 28 August. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>The goal of the mission is to cement India’s status as a space power. </strong><br /></li></ul>During his Independence Day address earlier this month, PM <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> earmarked a deadline for the country’s first manned space mission. He announced that the <keyword id="116095" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Space-Research-Organisation">Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword> (ISRO) would be sending an astronaut around Earth by 2022. <br /><br />On 28 August, the overall cost of the mission was pegged at $1.4 billion, significantly less than what space stalwarts like the United States and Russia spend on their expeditions. The mission, which will comprise of a three-person crew, is slated to take between five to seven days and will see the spacecraft staying within a 300 to 400 km orbit from the Earth.<br /><br />ISRO is well known for its low-cost space programmes and the organisation surged to global prominence in 2014 after its Mangalyaan mission, wherein a satellite was sent to Mars for a cost that was 10 times less than what NASA had spent on a similar project. The Mangalyaan satellite completed <a href="https://www.isro.gov.in/mars-orbiter-mission-completes-1000-days-orbit">1000 days</a> in Mars's orbit last June. <br /><br />While all that is well, India, right now, has far more pressing obligations to take care of - like infrastructure for its cities and healthcare and education for its citizens. Why spend $1.4 billion on a space mission? <br /><br />The answer is simple. Bragging rights. <br /><br />To be a space power will not only be a source of national pride but an indication of of India’s increasingly prominent role on the global stage. <br /><br />And this isn’t the country’s first mission to space either. In addition to the Mars launch, it sent the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft to explore the Moon’s surface. However, the successful completion of manned space missions is a rare feat only achieved by three countries until now - the US, Russia and China. Interestingly, Denmark also has a manned space mission slated for 2022.<br /><br /><strong>Fuel from the moon</strong><br /><br />However, there’s also another, arguably more important, reason that India is interested in sending humans to space. It wants to mine fuel from the Moon someday. And this is where its space and energy ambitions converge. <br /><br />The Indian government wants to assess the feasibility of harnessing a waste-free nuclear fuel from the south side of the Moon. As a part of its <keyword id="53289" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chandrayaan-2">Chandrayaan-2</keyword> programme, the ISRO is set to send a rover to the Moon in early 2019 to analyse samples of the lunar surface for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/after-mangalyaan-india-wants-to-be-the-first-to-explore-the-dark-side-of-the-moon/articleshow/64793523.cms">helium-3</a> concentration, a potentially trillion-dollar isotope that is believed to be abundant on the Moon because of solar winds. <br /><br />First discovered as a result of NASA’s Apollo missions, the non-radioactive isotope does not produce waste when fused in a nuclear reaction and if harnessed adequately, could provide an important source of energy to power Earth. In December 2018, China plans to send its own <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/China-says-it-will-launch-2-robots-to-the-far-side-of-the-moon-in-December-on-an-unprecedented-lunar-exploration-mission/articleshow/65417551.cms">rover to the moon</a> to scout for helium-3 samples, among other things, illustrating the urgency of India’s task. <br /><br />The Chandrayaan-2 rover will spend two weeks covering a 400-metre radius on the moon. Following the landing of the rover, the ISRO also plans to launch a space station into orbit. A manned mission to the Moon will be a culmination of this programme. <br />

India is spending $1.4 billion on a space trip and there are bigger plans involved

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> on Thursday launched a mission to Mars called <keyword id="9109397" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tianwen-1">Tianwen-1</keyword>, which translates to "questions to heaven."</li><li>The mission aims to reach Mars in February 2021, slip a satellite into orbit around <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mars-facts-statistics-2017-5">the red planet</a>, and deploy a lander-rover to the Martian surface.</li><li>The United Arab Emirates <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-misions-launching-to-mars-in-july-from-3-countries-2020-7">launched a Mars probe</a> called Hope on July 19, and NASA plans to launch its own rover on July 30.</li><li>If China pulls off the landing, it would become just the third nation to explore the Martian surface.</li></ul><p>For the first time in nine years, China is on its way to Mars.</p><p>On Thursday afternoon, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-launches-bold-attempt-to-land-rover-on-mars-2020-7">China launched</a> a 187-foot (57-meter) Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in eastern Hainan, a large island in the South China Sea, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-launches-bold-attempt-to-land-rover-on-mars-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Associated Press</a>. The rocket lifted off at 12:40 p.m. local time (12:40 a.m. ET) carrying a 5.5-ton bundle of <keyword id="6375764" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spacecraft">spacecraft</keyword> designed to execute an ambitious mission called Tianwen-1, which translates to "questions to heaven."</p><p>If the mission successfully arrives in Martian orbit in February 2021, then drops off a surface mission, it will kick off China's first direct exploration of the red planet.</p><p>China first attempted to reach Mars in 2011, as part of Russia's Phobos-Grunt mission. China's Yinghuo-1 experiment was on the flight, and a Russian rocket delivered the spacecraft to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/earth-moon-distance-edge-of-outer-space-2018-5">low-Earth orbit</a>. However, an engine did not ignite and fly the package to Mars, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-phobos-grunt-2011-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dooming the mission</a> by stranding it close to home.</p><p>With Tianwen-1, China is hoping to make up for its loss — and flex newfound technological muscle — by inserting a surface-studying satellite into Martian orbit, then sending a lander-rover spacecraft to the surface.</p><p>"The main task of Tianwen-1 is to perform a global and extensive survey of the entire planet using the orbiter, and to send the rover to surface locations of scientific interests to conduct detailed investigations with high accuracy and resolution," Wan Weixing, the Chinese space physicist who was the Tianwen-1 mission's chief engineer, wrote in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1148-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a July 13 Nature Astronomy article</a>.</p><p>"Scientifically, Tianwen-1 is the most comprehensive mission to investigate the Martian morphology, geology, mineralogy, space environment, and soil and water-ice distribution," Weixing claimed in the piece. (As Business Insider learned from <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2020/07/23/two-down-one-to-go-china-launches-first-ever-mission-to-mars-next-up-nasa/#3109b90e2222" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a Forbes story</a> by Jonathan O'Callaghan, Weixing passed away before the article was published. He died on May 20 at the age of 62, <a href="http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2020/05/21/729664.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.)</p><h2>Teeing up a Mars sample return mission</h2><p><div type="image" title="china mars global remote sensing and small rover tianwen hx 1 martian mission spacecraft illustration rendering cas xinhua" height="843" width="1500" msid="77135094" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Once the satellite arrives enters orbit in February 2021, the spacecraft should deploy a landing capsule that will scream through the atmosphere, open a parachute, and deposit the lander-rover package on the Martian surface.</p><p>The rover would then roll off the top of the lander in a process similar to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-moon-mission-lunar-landing-far-side-change4-2018-12">Chang'e 4 and Chinese lunar-landing missions before it</a>. The solar-powered, six-wheeled vehicle will use ground-penetrating radar to study Mars' internal structure and look for pockets of water ice, according to <a href="http://english.gov.cn/news/video/2016/08/24/content_281475424665899.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">state media</a>.</p><p>China's space agency <a href="http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n6758824/n6758845/c6772477/content.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">describes</a> this mission as a key part of future efforts to scoop up and launch Martian rocks and soil back to Earth, in part to determine if and when life was present on the planet. Chinese scientists hope to get their hands on what may be the first-ever pristine samples of Martian soil by 2030, according <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a14506608/united-states-china-racing-first-sample-from-mars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to Popular Mechanics</a>.</p><p>Some researchers believe that the sites of ancient <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/martian-oasis-water-extraterrestrial-life-2017-5">oasis-like pools</a> on Mars are the best places to dig in search of fossilized remains of microbial Martian life.</p><h2>Why 3 missions are launching to Mars this summer</h2><p><div type="image" title="china mars global remote sensing and small rover tianwen hx 1 martian mission illustration rendering cas xinhua" height="995" width="1500" msid="77135095" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Tianwen-1's launch follows that of the United Arab Emirate's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-united-arab-emirates-first-mars-mission-hope-orbiter-launch-2020-7">July 19 launch of Hope</a> — that nation's first-ever <keyword id="164562" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars-mission">Mars mission</keyword>. On July 30, NASA hopes to launch its own and even more ambitious Perseverance <keyword id="718236" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars-rover">Mars rover</keyword> mission, landing it in Jezero Crater in early 2021 — a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-mars-2020-rover-landing-site-jezero-crater-2018-11">site that may include signs of past alien life</a>.</p><p>That car-size, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-plutonium-fuel-automation-oak-ridge-energy-department-2019-1">nuclear-powered</a> robot will also set up the US for a Martian soil-sample return. NASA is the most recent entity to successfully reach Mars with its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-insight-mars-probe-landing-successful-science-mission-2018-11">InSight lander,</a> designed to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-insight-mars-lander-may-solve-earth-mysteries-2018-11">listen for Mars quakes</a> and deploy a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-insight-mars-850-million-dollar-drill-2018-11">"mole" probe</a> to investigate the planet's internal structure.</p><p>As <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-misions-launching-to-mars-in-july-from-3-countries-2020-7">Business Insider's Morgan McFall-Johnsen reported</a>, all three missions are launching this summer to take advantage of a launch window that opens for a few months every two years, when Earth and Mars closely align — making for a dramatically shorter trip.</p><h2>Landing on Mars is anything but easy</h2><p><div type="image" title="china mars global remote sensing and small rover tianwen hx 1 martian mission lander laser illustration rendering cas xinhua" height="843" width="1500" msid="77135098" hostid="261"></div></p><p>If the Tianwen-1's lander and rover spacecraft successfully touch down, the mission would make China only the third nation to explore the Martian surface, along with the United States and Russia. That's partly because Mars is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-insight-mars-mission-landing-when-what-time-2018-11">one of the most difficult planets to land on</a>. Its atmosphere is thick enough to burn up a spacecraft, yet too thin to completely slow down a mission during reentry (as can happen on Earth). Fewer than half of all missions sent to land on Mars have arrived safely.</p><p>One of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-russia-mars-landing-possible-failure-2016-10">latest failed landings</a> was a European probe called Schiaparelli. In 2016, as it approached the surface, its rocket thrusters turned on prematurely, causing it to fall from a mile high, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mars-lander-explosion-esa-2016-10">then crash and explode</a>.</p>

China just launched an ambitious Mars mission that could be its first to reach the red planet — and make it just the third nation to explore the Martian surface

<p>NASA just released its <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/journey-to-mars-next-steps-20151008_508.pdf">latest report</a> on the next steps that the agency plans to take on its journey to land the first humans on Mars.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>NASA</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In their report, the agency boldly states: "While far away, Mars is a goal within our reach. We are closer to sending humans to Mars than at any point in NASA's history."</p><p>Frankly, that goes without saying - their technology is more advanced than at any point in history, and since the Apollo missions, NASA has sent <a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/log/">over a dozen</a> orbiters and landers to the Red Planet in order to scope out its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hirise-photos-of-mars-2015-3">geography</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/maven-mars-upper-atmosphere-first-results-2014-10">atmosphere</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/curiosity-finds-organic-molecules-for-the-first-time-2014-12">chemical composition</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-big-announcement-about-mars-2015-9">much more</a>.</p><p>Here's a diagram of all the NASA probes that have or will visit Mars, and how each new mission has brought us that much closer to sending humans:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/journey-to-mars-next-steps-20151008_508.pdf">NASA</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>However obvious NASA'S bold statement may seem, it's one the agency is proud to make: This is the first time in over 45 years that the US - as well as humankind - has a chance to visit another world beyond Earth.</p><p>Could it be that NASA will once again write history by sending the first humans to walk on the surface of Mars? Their plans certainly aim to do so.</p><h2>A long road</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>NASA</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Since the final three Apollo missions were canceled in 1970, NASA has missed the unparalleled governement funding it received throughout the '60s - funding to design the technology that could land the first human on the moon.</p><p>To get the Apollo astronauts off the ground, the US federal government was pouring between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA#/media/File:NASA-Budget-Federal.svg">4% and 4.5%</a> of its total budget into NASA. But by 1970, public interest was waning and the federal government was turning their sights from space and back to Earth.</p><p>By the time the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17">last Apollo mission</a> to the moon was complete, NASA's funding had dropped from 4.5% to just above 1%. And by the turn of the century, that number was quickly dropping to less than 0.5%.</p><p>So, to get the tools, technologies, and wherewithal to finally say that they are closer to sending humans to Mars than ever before is more of a testament to NASA's progress over the years than an obvious statement.</p><h2>Journey to Mars</h2><p>"The journey to Mars passes through three thresholds, each with increasing challenges as humans move farther from Earth," NASA state in their report.</p><p>These thresholds are:</p><p><strong>1) Earth reliant:</strong> This involves scientific investigations currently being performed on board the International Space Station that examine the impacts of space on human health and plant and animal growth. It also includes testing technologies like 3D printing, extra-vehicular activities (EVA), and what they call in-situ resource utilization (<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/analogs/isru/">ISRU</a>).</p><p>ISRU is NASA's push to learn how to utilize resources on exploration sites like the moon, asteroids, and Mars. Their Mars 2020 rover will be equipped with one of these new technologies - a machine that can turn the carbon dioxide in Mars' atmosphere <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/moxie-makes-oxygen-for-colonies-on-mars-2015-3">into oxygen</a>.</p><p><strong>2) Proving ground:</strong> In the near future, humans will begin traveling beyond low-Earth orbit and the ISS to explore deeper regions of space. By the 2020s, NASA hopes to have brought a small asteroid into orbit around the moon through their Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) where astronauts will visit the asteroid and collect samples for scientific analysis.</p><p>Missions like these will test the latest spacecraft and technologies that NASA is building right now, including their Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, designed for a crew of up to four and for deep-space missions like ARM and Mars landings.</p><p><strong>3) Earth independent:</strong> After that, it's onto Mars. Colonies on Mars will need to be fairly independent because it takes at least six months to get from Earth to the Red Planet. These first colonies on Mars will test how well humans can utilize the Red Planet's resources.</p><p>Here's a schedule of NASA's plans over the next few years:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/journey-to-mars-next-steps-20151008_508.pdf">NASA</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/carl-zimmer-contaminating-mars-bacteria-viruses-earth-2015-10">If life exists on Mars, it could pose a problem for our exploration of the planet</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lwdTcyeDpUTqolRQBKiMsOvqHxXrqiyI" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

NASA: 'We are closer to sending humans to Mars than at any point in NASA's history'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>'s <keyword id="9109397" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tianwen-1">Tianwen-1</keyword> spacecraft successfully <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/united-arab-emirates-hope-probe-reaches-mars-orbit-2021-2">maneuvered into orbit around Mars</a> on Wednesday.</li><li>It's the first mission to attempt to deliver an orbiter, a lander, and a <keyword id="155626" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Rover">rover</keyword> all together.</li><li>The Tianwen-1 rover will <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-perseverance-rover-will-land-on-mars-2021-2">attempt to land</a> in a water-rich region of <keyword id="47638" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword> in May, after which it will scan for underground reservoirs.</li></ul><p>China's first inter<keyword id="46100" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="planet">planet</keyword>ary spacecraft has entered orbit around Mars, a major milestone for the country's space program. That sets the mission up for its next step: landing a rover on the red planet in May.</p><p>Tianwen-1, as the mission is called, means "questions to heaven." It aims to be the first <keyword id="164562" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars-mission">Mars mission</keyword> to send a spacecraft into orbit, drop a landing platform onto the Martian surface, and deploy a rover all in one expedition. On Wednesday, the five-ton probe carrying all the components fired its thrusters for about 15 minutes, slowing its approach as it sped toward Mars and allowing the planet's gravity to pull it into orbit, according to Chinese <a href="https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202102/10/WS6023d925a31024ad0baa8a92.html">state</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CGTNOfficial/status/1359486876495663109">media</a>.</p><p>The entire operation was autonomous - the communications delay at such a distance is too long for mission controllers to give the spacecraft instructions in real time. Had this crucial step failed, the spacecraft could have crashed into Mars or careened past the planet into deep space.</p><p>If Tianwen-1 successfully sets its lander down on Martian terrain, that will mark the first non-NASA Mars landing since the Soviet Union's rover touched down in 1971. The mission is also intended to help China prepare for a future attempt to return Martian rocks or dirt to Earth in the late 2020s.</p><div type="image" title="china mars tianwen-1 mission photo arrival orbit" height="3000" width="3000" msid="80790973" hostid="261"></div><p>China's last attempt to launch its first interplanetary mission involved a simple Mars orbiter. But the Russian spacecraft meant to carry it through space stalled in Earth's orbit in 2011 and never left.</p><p>This time, China launched its own vehicle, aboard a Long March 5 rocket. It lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on July 23. That was one of a trio of Mars launches that occurred around the same time to take advantage of a window in which Earth and Mars pass close together, making the voyage shorter and cheaper. Seven months later, the Tianwen-1 spacecraft has completed its 300-million-mile journey.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/united-arab-emirates-hope-probe-reaches-mars-orbit-2021-2">The United Arab Emirates' Hope probe</a> beat Tianwen-1 to Mars - it fell into orbit around the red planet on Tuesday. That made the UAE the fifth nation ever to reach Mars, and China the sixth. The third Mars mission of the month, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-perseverance-rover-will-land-on-mars-2021-2">NASA's Perseverance rover</a>, is set to land there on February 18.</p><p>As Tianwen-1 circles the planet over the next three months, it will scope out its own landing site in Utopia Planitia - a vast field of ancient volcanic rock that could conceal liquid water deep below the surface. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/8183/location-of-large-subsurface-water-ice-deposit-in-utopia-planitia-mars/">detected</a> an underground deposit of ice there that may hold as much water as Lake Superior.</p><p>Such underground reservoirs could be the remnants of an era billions of years ago, in which rivers flowed on Mars, supported by a much thicker and more protective atmosphere than the one that exists today. During that time, Mars somewhat resembled Earth, and scientists think it may have hosted alien microbial life. Any underground pockets of water are likely to be shielded from the sun's unfiltered radiation and the vacuum of space, so might still harbor such species - if they exist.</p><p>Knowing where to find water ice is also crucial for any future astronauts headed to Mars. Such interplanetary human missions will need water both to drink and to break down into oxygen and hydrogen - for breathing and rocket propellant. </p><p>The Tianwen-1 rover is poised to become the first robot on Mars' surface to seek out these water pockets, and the first to explore Utopia Planitia. But first it has to land safely.</p><h2>7 minutes of terror and 2 years in orbit</h2><p>Half of all the spacecraft humanity has tried to land on Mars never made it. Tianwen-1 will take on those odds in May, when the orbiter is supposed to <a href="http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6465653/c6810856/content.html">drop the mission's lander-rover combo</a> down to the planet's surface. It will be a major test of China's aerospace engineering.</p><div type="image" title="china mars global remote sensing and small rover hx 1 martian mission illustration rendering cas xinhua" height="995" width="1327" msid="80790974" hostid="261"></div><p>Officials and engineers often call <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-perseverance-rover-will-land-on-mars-2021-2">the entry, descent, and landing phase</a> of a Mars mission "seven minutes of terror." That's because the feat requires a capsule that can protect a lander or rover (or both in China's case) as it plummets through the Martian atmosphere at temperatures exceeding 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A supersonic parachute is needed to slow the fall, along with a set of thrusters to navigate along the way.</p><p>If that descent goes smoothly, the Tianwen-1 mission's lander will deploy a two-track ramp on which the rover will roll down onto Martian soil. The rover is set to explore the area for 90 Martian days, according to a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1148-6?utm_medium=affiliate&amp;utm_source=commission_junction&amp;utm_campaign=3_nsn6445_deeplink_PID100052171&amp;utm_content=deeplink#author-information-information">journal article</a> by scientists on the Tianwen-1 team.</p><p>Meanwhile, the orbiter will continue circling the red planet for one Martian year (two Earths years), relaying data to Earth and taking photos. Its main goal, according to the scientists, is to "perform a global and extensive survey of the entire planet."</p><p>This will involve charting Mars' geology, surveying its climate, and measuring its electromagnetic and gravitational fields.</p>

China's ambitious Tianwen-1 Mars mission - involving an orbiter, lander, and rover - just reached the red planet

Beijing, China's new medium-lift carrier rocket Long March-8 made its maiden flight on Tuesday, sending five <keyword id="41530" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="satellites">satellites</keyword> successfully into planned orbit, the country's space agency said. <br /><br />The rocket was launched from <keyword id="10477350" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-wenchang-spacecraft-launch-site">the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site</keyword> in Hainan. <br /><br />The five experimental satellites will carry out the in-orbit verification of microwave imaging and other technologies. They will conduct experiments in space science, remote sensing and <keyword id="589992" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="communication-technologies">communication technologies</keyword>, official media reported. <br /><br />The Long March-8 rocket which has a total length of 50.3 meters, and a take-off mass of 356 tonnes can carry a payload of at least 4.5 tonnes to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 km, <keyword id="9883300" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-china-national-space-administration">the China National Space Administration</keyword> (CNSA) said.<br /><br />The rocket fills the gap in China's launch capability to the sun-synchronous orbit from 3 tonnes to 4.5 tonnes, and is of great significance for accelerating the upgrading of launch vehicles, it said. <br /><br />On December 17, China's Chang'e-5 probe successfully completed the mission to bring home the first samples of the moon in over 40 years. <br /><br />A major space power, China launched its first Mars mission 'Tianwen-1' on July 23 this year. The Mars spacecraft which included an orbiter, lander and rover is on its way to the red planet. <br /><br />The new rocket, which was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), will enrich China's launch vehicle variety and help expand the country's aerospace activities, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. <br /><br />It will promote the upgrading of China's medium-sized launch vehicles and satisfy the needs of high-density launch missions for medium and low-orbit satellites Xiao Yun, chief commander of the rocket said. <br /><br />Song Zhengyu, chief designer of the Long March-8 rocket from the CALT, said the design of the rocket was based on technologies developed for previous Long March rockets. <br /><br />"It will lay a technological foundation for the development of large and heavy rockets, shortening development periods and reducing costs," Song said. <br /><br />The rocket can send one or multiple satellites in a single launch, and can undertake launch networking missions for low-Earth orbit satellites, according to Wu Yitian, deputy chief designer of the rocket. <br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/top-stocks-to-watch-spicejet-interglobe-aviation-tata-motors-pfizer-asian-paints-niit-lupin-and-others/articleshow/79849749.cms">Top stocks to watch – SpiceJet, InterGlobe Aviation, Tata Motors, Pfizer, Asian Paints, NIIT, Lupin, and others</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/how-to-check-mrs-bectors-food-specialities-ipo-allotment-status-online/articleshow/79808672.cms?upcache=2">Mrs Bectors Food Specialities IPO allotment today: Here’s how to check share allotment status</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/google-microsoft-invest-in-dailyhunt-for-its-short-video-platform-josh-making-it-the-latest-unicorn-in-india/articleshow/79850804.cms">Google, Microsoft invest in DailyHunt for its short video platform Josh – making it the latest unicorn in India</a></strong>

China's new space carrier rocket successfully launches five satellites on its maiden flight

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-first-interplanetary-helicopter-in-perseverance-mars-rover-belly-2020-7">NASA</a>, <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>, and the <keyword id="6354870" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="United-Arab-Emirates">United Arab Emirates</keyword> each have a mission speeding towards <keyword id="47638" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mars">Mars</keyword> — all set to arrive in February.</li><li><keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword>'s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moxie-robot-nasa-mars-rover-turns-co2-into-oxygen-2020-7">Perseverance rover</a> is equipped to sniff out signs of alien life, while China's <keyword id="9109397" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tianwen-1">Tianwen-1</keyword> <keyword id="155626" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Rover">rover</keyword> could find underground water.</li><li>The UAE's Hope orbiter aims to make a global map of the Martian climate.</li></ul><p>After six months of careening through space, three sets of robots finally have Mars in their sights.</p><p>The missions - from NASA, China, and the United Arab Emirates -  are set to reach the red planet this month, either falling into orbit around Mars or landing on its dusty red surface. Once there, they aim to search for signs of alien life, scan for underground reservoirs of water, and map the planet's changing seasons.</p><p>The three space agencies' missions all <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-misions-launching-to-mars-in-july-from-3-countries-2020-7">launched in July 2020</a>. Their timelines align because they are taking advantage of the same short window of time when Mars passes close to Earth in the planets' orbits around the sun. That significantly reduces the travel time and cost of anything launched toward Mars. </p><p>As a result, Mars is about to welcome two rovers, two orbiters, and one helicopter.</p><p>Here's what each of the robots is designed to do once it reaches the red planet.</p><h2>NASA's Perseverance rover will hunt for alien life and deploy a helicopter</h2><div type="image" title="mars rover sample return mission perseverance" height="950" width="1267" msid="80489115" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-perseverance-mars-rover-launch-2020-7">NASA built its newest Mars rover</a>, Perseverance, to scan and drill Martian soil for signs of alien life. The nuclear-powered robot is programmed to stash those soil samples away so that a future mission can bring them back to Earth.</p><p>"This is the first time in history when NASA has dedicated a mission to what we call astrobiology: the search for life - either maybe now, or ancient life - on another world," Jim Bridenstine, who served as the NASA Administrator during the Trump administration, said ahead of the rover's launch.</p><p>If all goes well, NASA's spacecraft will plow through the Martian atmosphere on February 18, deploy a parachute to slow its fall, then deposit the rover in Mars' Jezero crater - an ancient riverbed that could harbor signs of past microbial life.</p><div type="image" title="mars perseverance rover landing entry descent nasa" height="1519" width="2700" msid="80489116" hostid="261"></div><p>After a few months of checking and calibrating its scientific instruments, Perseverance is set to release <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-first-interplanetary-helicopter-in-perseverance-mars-rover-belly-2020-7">the first interplanetary drone</a> from its belly: a helicopter called Ingenuity.</p><p>The 4-pound drone is programmed to carry out a series of test flights, first hovering about 10 feet in the air, then building up to more difficult demonstrations. Ultimately, it could cruise over distances of nearly 980 feet (300 meters) across the Jezero Crater. </p><p>Ingenuity is just a technological demonstration, but it could kick off a new approach to exploring other planets.</p><div type="image" title="mars helicopter ingenuity flight nasa gif" height="360" width="640" msid="80489117" hostid="261"></div><p>"In the future, it could transform how we do planetary <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> on these other worlds, and eventually be a scout so that we can figure out where exactly do we need to send our robots," Bridenstine said.</p><p>Perseverance also carries <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moxie-robot-nasa-mars-rover-turns-co2-into-oxygen-2020-7">a device that converts carbon dioxide into oxygen</a>. By testing its abilities on Mars, scientists can learn whether this technology could make oxygen for future Mars astronauts to breathe or turn into rocket fuel.</p><h2>China is sending an orbiter, lander, and rover</h2><div type="image" title="china mars global remote sensing and small rover hx 1 martian mission illustration rendering cas xinhua" height="995" width="1327" msid="80489118" hostid="261"></div><p>If successful, China's Tianwen-1 will be the first Mars mission to send a spacecraft into orbit, drop a landing platform, and deploy a rover all in one expedition.</p><p>It's ambitious for the country's first interplanetary mission. China attempted to send a simple orbiter to Mars in 2011, but the Russian spacecraft that was meant to carry it there stalled in Earth's orbit and never left.</p><p>This time, China launched with its own space vehicle. A NASA camera that watches for asteroids captured the spacecraft speeding away in July.</p><p>Chinese state media reports that the spacecraft is set to fall into Martian orbit on February 10, according to <a href="https://www.space.com/china-tianwen-1-mars-orbit-insertion-february-2021#:~:text=China's%20Tianwen%2D1%20spacecraft%20will%20reach%20Mars%20orbit%20on%20February%2010&amp;text=The%20rover%20won't%20land,15%20million%20miles%20from%20Earth.rth.">Space.com</a>.</p><p>After the orbiter spends a couple months surveying the landing site, it should drop the lander and rover to Utopia Planitia, a vast field of volcanic rock. Then the lander is set to deploy a ramp for the rover to roll off its platform and onto the Martian ground. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) <a href="http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6465653/c6810856/content.html">says</a> the landing will happen in May. </p><p>The rover is equipped with a radar system that can detect underground pockets of water. It aims to sniff out ancient reservoirs that could harbor life. It will also help China prepare for a mission to return its own sample from Mars to Earth.</p><h2>The UAE's Hope orbiter aims to map a year of Martian seasons</h2><div type="image" title="uae hope orbiter probe mars united arab emirates" height="2001" width="3000" msid="80489120" hostid="261"></div><p>The UAE's orbiter - called "Al-Amal," or "Hope" - is the Arab world's first mission to Mars. It aims to chart a global map of the planet's climate across one Martian year (about two Earth years). It would be humanity's first such picture of Mars' atmosphere.</p><p>The SUV-sized spacecraft is set to arrive at the red planet on <a href="https://twitter.com/HHShkMohd/status/1334509208151216132">February 9</a>, then fall into an oval-shaped orbit that allows it to survey most of the planet every 55 hours in infrared, ultraviolet, and visible light. While it orbits, the satellite will study the Martian atmosphere by monitoring how it interacts with solar wind and tracking the loss of hydrogen and oxygen.</p><p>"We'll be able to cover all of Mars, through all times of day, through an entire Martian year," Sarah Al Amiri, the mission's science lead, told <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01861-0">Nature</a> before the orbiter launched.</p><p>This data could help scientists better understand Mars' changing seasons and how it lost the thick atmosphere of its youth 4 billion years ago.</p><p><em>This post has been updated. It was originally published at 2:45 p.m. EST on January 27, 2021.</em></p>

3 spacecraft are set to reach Mars this month, from NASA, China, and the UAE. Here's what they aim to learn.

<br /> Although <keyword id="164562" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mars-mission">Mars mission</keyword> have a high failure rate worldwide, renowned space scientist UR Rao has expressed confidence that India’s maiden journey to Mars would be a success. <p class="body">
	<span lang="EN">India launched the <keyword id="1925476" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mars-orbiter">Mars Orbiter</keyword> Mission, called ‘<keyword id="1506013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="mangalyaan">Mangalyaan</keyword>’, in November 2013. The spacecraft is expected to land on Mars on September 24. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="body">
	<span lang="EN">“More than 30% of Mars missions failed in the beginning, but we have undertaken this for the first time and we will succeed. On September 24, we will go to Mars,” said Rao, chairman, council of management, physical research laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad. Rao added, “we would be able to colonise Mars in less than 1,000 years.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="body">
	<span lang="EN">He said Indian scientists were also working on L1 mission to study the Sun. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="body">
	<span lang="EN">“I am surprised no scientific person is working on the solar corona. We know so little about the Sun. The ignorance is amazing. Papers are being written but we cannot make head or tail of them. Today we have the technological ability to do it. Why are scientific people not doing it? If you have to do great science, you have to have an adventurous attitude,” he told the scientific community at PRL. <o:p></o:p></span></p>

You Searched For "mars orbiter mission completes 4 years" and got 12 results

Mars Orbiter Mission completes 4 years: In pictures

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Mangalyaan’s Rendezvous With Mars

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China's Mars spacecraft has photographed the entire red planet, state media says

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China wants to launch to Mars next year - part of an ambitious plan to bring the first Martian soil samples back to Earth

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The United Arab Emirates' Mars probe just entered orbit around the red planet, the first in a Mars-mission bonanza

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India is spending $1.4 billion on a space trip and there are bigger plans involved

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China just launched an ambitious Mars mission that could be its first to reach the red planet — and make it just the third nation to explore the Martian surface

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NASA: 'We are closer to sending humans to Mars than at any point in NASA's history'

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China's ambitious Tianwen-1 Mars mission - involving an orbiter, lander, and rover - just reached the red planet

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China's new space carrier rocket successfully launches five satellites on its maiden flight

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3 spacecraft are set to reach Mars this month, from NASA, China, and the UAE. Here's what they aim to learn.

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Space Scientist Expresses Confidence Of Mangalyaan’s Success

BI India Bureau

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