China News Service, July 30 (Li Hongyu) "The earth is the cradle of mankind, but mankind cannot live in the cradle forever." Rocket expert Tsiolkovsky once said. As the planet most similar to the earth in the solar system and the distance is relatively moderate, humans have long yearned for Mars.

　　In July 2020, the exploration of Mars by mankind seems extremely busy. Almost fore and aft, following the launch of the UAE "Hope" Mars probe and China's "Tianwen-1" Mars probe, on July 30, local time, the "Perseverance" developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) The Mars rover also embarked on a journey to "run the fire".

The picture shows the rendering of the "Perseverance" Mars rover.

Multinational detectors "compete on the same stage"

Mars becomes a deep space exploration "wrestling field"?

　　International Mars exploration began in the 1960s. Before 2020, the United States, Soviet Union/Russia, Japan, Europe, and India have successively implemented 44 Mars exploration missions, but the complete success rate is less than 50%. Although the exploration of Mars is difficult, humanity has never stopped.

Data map: Mars.

　　There are often raging dust storms on the barren surface of Mars, and liquid water once existed here... For more than half a century, the rapid development of technology has allowed humans to deepen their understanding of this planet. Whenever there is a new discovery about Mars, people's enthusiasm for exploring Mars will be stimulated again.

　　On July 20, 2020, the UAE’s first Mars rover "Hope" was successfully launched by the Japanese H-2A carrier rocket, kicking off the 2020 international Mars exploration.

At 12:41 on July 23, 2020, the Long March 5 Yaosi carrier rocket lifted my country's first Mars exploration mission "Tianwen-1" probe and ignited at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China. Photo by Guo Wenbin

　　Only three days later, China's "Tianwen-1" was successfully launched, taking the first step of China's first Mars exploration mission independently and preparing for the deepening of China's planetary exploration program.

　　Today, the Mars probes of China, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates are "competing on the same platform" to Mars, while the European Space Agency, which originally planned to launch the Mars probe at the same time, has postponed the plan to 2022.

　　In addition, Japan also plans to launch a probe in 2024 to visit the Martian satellites-Phobos and Phobos, and plan to land on Phobos to sample and return to Earth.

　　In India, although it did not have a clear plan for exploring Mars this year, considering that India launched its first Mars probe in 2013 and successfully entered Mars orbit, in the future, more countries may join the "Fire" team.

Data map: NASA "Curiosity" rover.

"Curiosity" replica?

"Perseverance" has these differences

　　From the "Sojna" that landed on Mars in 1997 to the later "Courage" and "Opportunity", to the "Curiosity" and "Perseverance" rover, which has been exploring Mars since 2012, will be expected to become NASA's fifth rover to land on Mars.

When the "Perseverance" Mars rover lands, it will first select a location to take pictures, then compare the topography and landforms, and finally determine the location for landing. (Image source: NASA official website)

　　In order to reduce mission costs and risks as much as possible, the "Perseverance" exploration mission design is mainly based on the mission architecture of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), including the "Curiosity" rover and a proven landing system.

　　However, despite the many similarities, many hardware devices and software systems of "Perseverance" are still different than before.

The road map of the Mars rover Perseverance during its mission on Mars. (Image source: NASA official website)

　　For example, the wheels of Perseverance are stronger and more suitable for Mars exploration; there are 23 cameras that will record the landing process; it is equipped with a new type of microphone, or it is expected that the earth can "hear" the sound of Mars for the first time...and Perseverance. One of the most significant differences between the Rover and the "Curiosity" is that the former is equipped with a sample cache system that will be able to collect and store rock and soil samples on Mars.

On March 12, 2020, local time, NASA released a simulated map of the Mars helicopter "Wiz". (Image source: NASA official website)

　　In addition, the "Perseverance" is also worth noting that it also carries an experimental mini helicopter "Witty" weighing about 1.8 kilograms. Once the rover finds a suitable location, the "Wit" will be separated from it, and several test flights will take place.

　　NASA officials said that if the "wit" mission is successful, future Mars exploration missions may often use helicopters. The helicopter will also independently do a lot of scientific research, such as exploring caves and cliffs that are difficult to reach by Mars vehicles.

To pave the way to detect "fire",

Many countries have many detection missions

　　On February 18, 2021, the Perseverance will land at the Jezero Crater on Mars after a long interstellar journey of nearly seven months. At that time, it will start a series of detection missions that have been given great expectations.

The picture shows the "Opportunity" returning to Earth from the surface of Mars. (Image source: NASA official website)

　　Search for the "clues" of ancient life here; record the climate and geological characteristics of Mars, collect Mars samples; try to convert carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere into oxygen... According to the plan, these missions will last at least one "Martian year", This is roughly equivalent to 687 days on Earth.

　　However, considering the mission time of NASA's previous probes, the "Perseverance" mission is expected to take longer.

On July 20, local time, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Corporation used an H2A rocket to launch the United Arab Emirates "Hope" Mars probe into space.

　　In the sky above Mars, the UAE "Hope" will orbit near the equator to collect all-weather meteorological data in different regions of Mars in different seasons and different times to help scientists understand the climate conditions of Mars more comprehensively.

　　This may help solve an important mystery about Mars: why the Martian environment has changed from being full of rivers, lakes and seas to a barren state now.

　　At the same time, China's "Tianwen No. 1" plans to complete a "circle, land, and patrol" of Mars, hoping to achieve the goal of global observation of the entire Mars, successfully landing on Mars, and using the Mars rover to conduct inspections and surveys.

　　If successful, this "journey" will enable China's deep space exploration capabilities and levels to achieve leapfrog development, becoming the world's third country to land on Mars and the second country to patrol on Mars.

　　It can be said that all countries have many tasks during this trip, and all of this will pave the way for mankind to explore this red planet in the future.

"Explore the fire" road is not alone,

The road of human exploration is endless

　　"Perseverance" heading to Mars will be far away from the earth, but it will take a deep "memory" of its homeland and station on a distant planet.

　　Silicon chips containing the names of nearly 11 million people worldwide were installed by NASA on an aluminum plate under the protective shield of the rover. And this aluminum plate is also etched with patterns of the earth, the sun and Mars, conveying the secret coded message meaning "to explore together".

On June 17, local time, NASA displayed a commemorative plaque that will fly to Mars with Perseverance to pay tribute to all medical staff around the world fighting the new crown virus. (Image source: NASA "Perseverance" Mars Rover Social Media Official Account)

　　At the same time, an aluminum plate engraved with the earth and snake rod will travel to Mars together to show respect to the medical staff worldwide fighting the new crown epidemic.

　　And these names and information will remind humans that the probe has never really traveled alone on far away Mars.

　　Mars exploration is a long process. Throughout the history of mankind's exploration of Mars, every exploration, whether failed or successful, is a footnote to the next exploration of the unknown.

　　"The road is long and long, I will search up and down."

　　The history of human civilization is actually a history of constantly exploring the unknown world. It is precisely because of curiosity and longing for the unknown world that human beings are exploring further and further... (End)