Two first-timer Mars missions slipped flawlessly into orbit this week Scott Sutherland
After travelling for millions of kilometres through interplanetary space, two missions from first-time Mars explorers have arrived at their destination!
Mars active robot population is getting a substantial boost in 2021. The Curiosity rover is still exploring Gale Crater and Mount Sharp, and the InSight lander continues to listen for marsquakes, with a new mission extension until the end of 2022. In orbit, there s NASA s Mars Odyssey, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, plus Mars Express and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter from the ESA, and the Mars Orbiter Mission from India s ISRO.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday made history as the first Arab nation to reach Mars, seven months after the Emirati-built "Hope Probe" was launched from Tanegashima in Japan.
"204 days and more than 480 million kms later, the Hope Probe is now in the Capture Orbit of Mars,” the official
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The UAE’s Hope Probe will begin the toughest part of its journey to enter Mars’ orbit today at 7.42 pm (UAE time).
The Mars Orbital Insertion process, which will last 27 ‘dark’ minutes, is the most critical aspect of the mission, with details expected by around 8.10- 8.15pm.
Nearly half of the fuel will be spent to slow the probe down enough to capture Mars’ orbit. The fuel burn will last approximately 30 minutes and reduces the speed of the spacecraft from over 121,000 km/h to approximately 18,000 km/h.
Since the Mars Orbit Insertion phase is as critical as the launch phase, the spacecraft will need to be commissioned again and the instruments onboard tested before the transition to science phase, according to the Emirates Mars Mission website.