With a colossal intent to put humans on the Mars as the next huge surge in space exploration, countries worldwide, national as well as private agencies are on the jaunt towards creating opportunities to explore the red planet. But this cannot be achieved all of a sudden as there remains a lot of complications and hurdles to cross. Critics do claim that sending humans to the red planet cannot literally make sense and as a result NASA is working to return astronauts to moon and thereby demonstrating and working out possibilities to Mars Expedition and other destinations.
When the year 2020 is concerned, countries like, The United States of America, China and United Arab Emirates are planning to send unmanned mission to Mars. While spaceX, an american aerospace manufacturer and space transportation service are planning to execute manned as well as unmanned missions to Mars this decade itself while also claiming the dates to be only aspirational. Each and every space agency is dedicated day and night in order to study different signs and life in the red planet.
Aspirations and dreams are not limited, the manned mission to Mars could be a revolution in the life of humanity marking the beginning of a new era. Humans living on the red planet could seem funny, but is literally a truth every country and organization aims to accomplish. For example, by the year 2117, UAE wishes to establish a giant city of 6 lakh inhabitants. CEO of Spacex, Elon musk commented “It is possible to make a self-sustaining city on Mars by 2050, if we start in 5 years & take 10 orbital synchronizations.”
Mars Expedition Missions: Let’s have an eye at the efforts and contribution adopted by various space organizations and potential countries:
United Arab Emirates
The country through the Mars Mission aims at promoting the country toward a knowledge based economy. The country’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center is all set to launch the Hope Mars Mission that would orbit mars and study the red planet’s weather patterns between July 20 and July 22, 2020. The launch initially planned for earlier this week was delayed due to bad weather and climatic conditions. The spacecraft is expected to carry scientific instruments and camera for high resolution image application. Once around the orbit of Mars, the Hope will measure the daily atmospheric and climate changes happening on the red planet. Once this mission is accomplished, the UAE would become the fifth spacefaring potential country after the United States, Soviet Union, European Union and India. The Hope is expected to arrive at the Mars’s Surface by February 2021. UAE’s minister for advanced sciences, Sarah Al Amiri commented “The geology of Mars has been studied quite extensively. We are only just getting started on the atmosphere”.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Aimed at addressing high priority science goals for Mars Expedition, the 2020 Mars Missionwith the perseverance rover is a long term effort of robotic exploration to the red planet. The Mission aims to conduct researches and tests in order to find whether, there existed signs of microbial life in the past and also hopes to seek signs of habitable conditions in the future too. This rover is facilitated to collect core samples of rocks and soils by a consistent drill. It also provides chances to accumulate more knowledge and information and could find solutions to future expeditions. Several tests like producing oxygen from the atmosphere and also identifying other resources like water is at priority. The NASA’s launch window is expected between July 22, 2020 and August 11, 2020 and the landing is expected to be on February 18, 2021.
SpaceX
The Premiere American Aerospace Company is on the process to initiate two Mars Voyages, A cargo only mission in the year 2022 and a manned mission in the year 2024. The mission is aimed at constructing a propellant depot and a preparation site for future flights predicting the date of accomplishment to be aspirational. The company also plans to use spacecraft to send Japanese Billionaire and a handful of artist to lunar orbit by 2023.
China
After successful completion of the mars expedition of Moon in the year 2019, China today aims at even more ambitious goal and wishes to send an orbiter, lander and a rover to Mars in one go. The mission named Tianwen-1 (meaning questions to heaven) is something very much prosperous and versatile, which no country has done in the past. The mission majorly aims at finding signs of water on the planet and conducting researches on the presence of ancient life in the past. Sources have estimated the launch around July 23, which is definitely expected to make a revolution in the space world.
Russia and the European Union
Roscosmos, Russia’s premiere state corporation responsible for space application and space agency of the European Union is all set to bring laurels in the mars mission by the year 2022 as part of the mission called “ExoMars”. The main motive of the mission is to widely study the presence of water in the planet in the past and the ever going surge to find the presence of life if so it existed or not. The project’s first phase flagged of in the year 2016 was a great milestone and also a consistent approach of so many space professionals and scientists. The second phase of mission though was planned this year, but unfortunately due to the present situation of the COVID-19, the launch has been delayed by two more year.
Japan
Japan always called to be the land of incredible innovations too plans to be one among the spacefarers. The country’s aerospace agency- JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) by the year 2024 plans to launch a uniquely potential interplanetary mission which could involve an orbit landing on the surface of Mars and thereby gathering information and samples and also sending them back to earth by 2029. The agency has officially releases the objectives of mission, which aims at investigation whether the Martian moons are captured fragments that came together with a giant impact with Mars and terrestrial planets. JAXA also plans to clarify the criterion controlling the surface evolution of the Martian moon.
India
After its successful completion of its interplanetary trip with Mars Orbiter mission, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) marked the history by achieving the honor of the first Asian country to reach the Martian Orbit that too in its maiden voyage. India is also planning for a follow up approach of Mars Orbiter Mission 2 while remaining unclear about the possible date of possible mission initiation. Reports from the officials do suggest that the mission would include a lander, rover in addition to an orbiter. With its very professional and successful victory in the very first approach, the whole world is deeply waiting for India’s next giant move.
