杏吧原创

OVER the course of just 10 days in February 2021, three missions arrived at Mars.

The first was the United Arab Emirates鈥檚 Hope orbiter, which entered orbit on 9 February. Hope is the UAE鈥檚 first interplanetary mission. While some of its systems couldn鈥檛 be tested on Earth, the entry went smoothly.

鈥淭hese missions are complementing each other, technically or scientifically鈥�

鈥淚t was a once in a lifetime experience 鈥� a terrifying one, exhausting, but a very good one,鈥� says .

The next day, China鈥檚 Tianwen-1 mission joined Hope in orbit. Tianwen-1 is an ambitious mission, with an orbiter, lander and rover. After three months of testing instruments and making sure the landing site was free of obstacles, the orbiter released the lander and the Zhurong rover, which arrived at the surface on 14 May, making China the third country to land a rover on Mars.

鈥淭hese missions are complementing each other, whether it鈥檚 technically or scientifically, and they will all help us develop the next round of Mars missions,鈥� says Sharaf.

The third to arrive at Mars was NASA鈥檚 Perseverance rover on 18 February. One of its goals is to collect and set aside samples to be returned to Earth by NASA鈥檚 next mission to Mars. 鈥淪ample return has been a decade away for decades 鈥� it鈥檚 still a decade away, but it鈥檚 started,鈥� says NASA鈥檚 .

The Perseverance mission also carried the Ingenuity helicopter to Mars, the first drone to fly on another world. It has been remarkably successful 鈥� it was originally planned to make five test flights, but it had made 17 by early December, many of which were longer and more complicated than any of the planned tests. 鈥淲e had orbiters and then landers and then rovers, and now it looks like we can fly as well,鈥� says Farley.

Perseverance has found volcanic rocks that appear to have been altered by contact with water, giving us insight into the ancient lake that used to cover its landing site. Zhurong has taken many images of the Martian terrain. Hope has imaged Mars鈥檚 aurora and seen unexpected structures in the atmosphere.

鈥淲hile the reasons are not laid down yet as to why we鈥檙e seeing what we鈥檙e seeing, it鈥檚 very exciting,鈥� says Hessa Al Matroushi, the Hope mission鈥檚 science lead.

鈥淎t the beginning there鈥檚 always different puzzle pieces, and as you get more data they start to interlock,鈥� says Farley. With all these missions at Mars, the number of puzzle pieces will only increase, each bringing its own set of questions. But as the puzzle grows, our picture of the Red Planet will become clearer.