key: cord-0051895-peifl5ln authors: Leslie, Mitch title: Three New Missions Head for Mars date: 2020-10-22 journal: Engineering (Beijing) DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2020.10.007 sha: 6fcd963b2e2594f16b2cab353f1a74affda5009c doc_id: 51895 cord_uid: peifl5ln nan professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA. "The question is, how far did it go?" Before the new craft can begin exploring Mars, they have to get there and deploy their instruments, which in itself would be an achievement, since about half of past missions have failed [7] . But if all three arrive at the Red Planet as scheduled and start working, they will perform a variety of scientific assignments. The US mission will deposit NASA's Perseverance rover in the Jezero Crater, a dry lakebed about 48 km across in the planet's northern hemisphere [8] . The crater is a prime location to search for evidence of past life because it formerly contained a lake and features a delta, the formation created when a river fans out as it enters a body of water [8] . On Earth, deltas are rich in organic material and other remnants of life, Arvidson said. Almost identical to NASA's Curiosity rover that has been traveling over the surface of Mars since 2012, the six-wheeled, plutonium-powered Perseverance rover carries more advanced instruments-seven in total-that it will use to investigate the crater [9, 10] . Bell and his team developed a camera system that captures three-dimensional images and high-definition video [11] , enabling scientists and engineers on Earth to chart the 3 m-long and 2.7 m-wide rover's course through the crater and pick the most promising rocks or geological features for scrutiny. In addition, the rover's robotic arm carries instruments that can perform Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy to identify minerals and organic molecules, as well as an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer for analyzing the chemical composition of rock [12, 13] . Even with its sophisticated instruments, the Perseverance rover almost certainly will not find indisputable evidence of life on Mars, the scientists agree. If that evidence does exist, said Bell, "it is not likely to be a fossil," but will probably be a subtle geologic, chemical, or isotopic signature. Detecting that signature and demonstrating beyond doubt that it indicates the presence of past life will require the capabilities of laboratories on Earth, he said. The Perseverance rover's most important role is to help make these in-depth analyses possible by drilling cores from promising rocks and caching them for a future expedition to collect ( Fig. 1 ) [14] . When that might happen remains to be determined, but NASA and the ESA are planning a joint mission that could potentially return the samples to Earth as soon as 2031 [14] . The Perseverance rover will also test technologies that could benefit future missions. For example, it carries a miniature helicopter named Ingenuity that weighs only 1.8 kg (Fig. 2) [15] . No vehicle has ever flown on another planet. If Ingenuity can lift off in Mars' thin atmosphere, larger models could be useful for scouting or transportation on Mars or for exploring other celestial bodies in the Solar System. NASA is already planning to send a helicopter to Saturn's moon Titan [16] . "Getting anything flying on another planet would be very valuable," said Arvidson. Two other NASA craft are currently operating on Mars-Curiosity and the InSight lander, which touched down at Elysium Planitia near the planet's equator in November of 2018 [17, 18] . To help scientists better understand the structure of Mars' interior, InSight is monitoring seismic activity and has measured hundreds of quakes, the first ones detected on another planet [19] . However, the lander's temperature probe, designed to take readings from as much as 5 m beneath the surface, has been beset by numerous setbacks [18] . China's Tianwen-1 mission notably includes an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. China tried to send an orbiter to the red planet in 2011, but the Russian rocket carrying it malfunctioned [20] . Other countries started out with orbiters, moved on to landers, and only then deployed rovers [20] . China is the first country to try to complete all three exploration milestones in the same mission. If it succeeds, "It would be spectacular," said Bell. The seven instruments aboard Tianwen-1 include a spectrometer for analyzing the planet's mineralogy and a magnetometer for probing its magnetic field [21, 22] . The lander and rover probably will touch down on a plain in the planet's northern hemisphere, Utopia Planitia, "that likely has evidence for habitability or maybe ancient life," Arvidson said. The rover will explore the area with instruments that include a detector for assaying the chemical composition of the surface and ground-penetrating radar, which the Perseverance rover also carries [22, 23] . The third spacecraft, the UAE's orbiter "Hope" will serve as the first weather satellite for the planet. The data it captures could help researchers investigating the evolution of the planet, Siebach said. "We have had a hard time understanding past weather on Mars," she said. By continuously tracking current atmospheric conditions, the Hope orbiter may provide insight into the planet's weather history. The craft carries an infrared spectrometer to measure dust, water vapor, and ice in the lower atmosphere [10] . In addition, its ultraviolet spectrometer should allow the orbiter to track oxygen, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen in the upper layers of the atmosphere, which could offer clues about how most of Mars' atmosphere leaked away into space [1] . The new investigations are scheduled to begin when the three missions reach Mars in February 2021. "Will they revolutionize our view of the planet? I am not sure," said Byrne. "But I cannot wait to see what they find." Countdown to Mars: three daring missions take aim at the red planet [Internet]. London: Nature Mars mission would put China among space leaders NASA's life-hunting Mars rover is officially on its way to the red planet NASA delays launch of Mars rover Perseverance to With Europe's ExoMars rover delayed, could NASA's missions be next? Raging rivers may have washed over Mars for billions of years How many Mars missions have been successful? How NASA found the ideal hole on Mars to land in Mars 2020 launch: NASA's Perseverance rover ready for journey to the red planet Meet the 3 Spacecraft going to Mars this summer NASA Perseverance rover: how it works and what it will do NASA's Perseverance rover launch kicks off audacious Mars sample-return project The first interplanetary helicopter is on its way to Mars NASA will send a helicopter to hunt for life on Saturn's biggest moon The "mole" on Mars is finally underground after a push from NASA's InSight lander Marsquakes" reveal planet's hidden geology China's Mars mission, Tianwen-1, begins its monthslong journey China's first mission to Mars China launches ambitious Tianwen-1 Mars rover mission China's successful launch of Mars mission seals global era in deep-space exploration