Sep 22

Sep 22 2020: a Mars Odyssey

Artist illustration of an explorer on Mars (Courtesy of NASA)

“My great uncle emigrated from Earth….endless blue skies, free air everywhere, open water all the way to the horizon. He told me that someday we would make Mars just like that.”

— The Expanse, Season 1 Episode 4 CQB

***Update 5/17/2021*** Final post update: even if everything becomes inoperable now, Earth’s Mars 2020 Odyssey has been nothing short of a complete success. Our Middle East representative, UAE’s Mars Mission became the first probe ever “to make images from different points of view over the course of a day.” Meanwhile from North America, NASA became the first space agency to launch an aircraft on “a powered, controlled flight on another planet.” On the other side of the globe, Asia’s delegate, China’s Zhurong rover was able to land safely on Mars on the country’s first ever Mars landing attempt. If there is one thing that Outer Space teaches us, it is that what divides us is infinitesimally small compare to what unites us as Earthlings. So while all three missions carry different flags, humans around the world can all lay claim to their accomplishments. Go Earth!

***Update 2/18/2021*** A quick update with all three missions arriving at Mars after the completion of a seven-month journey. UAE’s Hope Orbiter arrived at the red planet on February 9th and took its first shot of Mars a day later. On that same day, February 10th, China’s Tianwen-1 entered Martian orbit as well. A week later, on February 18th, NASA’s Perseverance touched down at the Jezero Crater. Resounding success for all three nations! I will make a final update in early summer when China is expected to land its to-be-named rover.

July 2020 proved to be an eventful and exciting month for Mars missions. Three rockets from three different nations blasted off from Earth for the red planet. Onboard these space-faring journeys are an assortment of payloads that will better our understanding of this fourth rock from the Sun.

While Mars missions usually takes years to plan, the final flurry of launch preparation all continued without abatement against the backdrop of a global pandemic; scientists and engineers knew time was of the essence—the summer of 2020 would be the only available Mars launch window for quite some time. With Mars taking 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun, the distance between the two planets can vary greatly. But, approximately every two years, the stars align and the two planets are only separated by 57 million kilometers (~35 million miles). While this might still seem far, the journey will take a lot less time—all are expected to arrive in February 2021—than when the two are more than 200 million kilometers (~124 million miles) apart at their farthest. With both planets in constant motion, scientists are always conscientious of this limited window of time: to launch as much payload as possible while still satisfying the requirements of the rocket equation to successfully escape Earth’s gravity.

In celebration of these three nations’ successes during this crunch time, this post will take a chronological look at all three of these exciting Mars missions: United Arab Emirates Space Agency’s Emirates Mars Mission, China National Space Administration’s Tianwen-1, and United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mars 2020. A quick note before starting, there was actually a fourth Mars mission for 2020—ExoMars—that was planned jointly between the European Space Agency and Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos. However, its July launch was scrubbed because the pre-launch checklist could not be completed in time. But rather than looking at this as an indictment on ExoMars’ failure, this further proves how these other successful Mars launches are extraordinary accomplishments that three nations should be extremely proud of.

Emirates Mars Mission

In recent years, United Arab Emirates (UAE) has achieved remarkable success in Outer Space. Hot off of the heels of becoming the 41st nation to send a human to Outer Space last year, UAE is looking to become the first Middle East country to successfully execute a Mars mission. Named the Emirates Mars Mission, it officially commenced when its Japanese Mitsubishi H-IIA rocket blasted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center on July 20th at 6:58am local time.

Onboard the Emirates Mars Mission’s rocket is an orbital payload: the Hope Probe. When it arrives at Mars, the Hope Probe is expected to capture images of the red planet and conduct analysis on its atmosphere. The completion of these goals will accomplish the mission’s primary objective of capturing the first complete picture of the Martian atmosphere. Through this data collection process, the Hope Probe will also help scientists to understand how hydrogen and oxygen escape into Outer Space from the upper and lower Martian atmosphere. This mission is expected to last for 2 Earth years (or one Martian year).

The Hope Probe weighs 1,350 kilograms, inclusive of fuel. It has a dimension of 3 meter by 7.9 meter with its 600-watt solar panels unfolded. A 1.85 meter antenna will be used by the probe to communicate its data back to Earth; this will be done twice a week in 6 to 8 hour segments, expecting to culminate in over 1 TB of data transferred during the lifetime of the mission.

The three main instruments onboard the Hope Orbiter are: (1) the Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS), (2) Emirates Exploration Imager (EXI), and (3) Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS). The EMIRS will be used to study Mars’ lower atmosphere and measure its distribution of dust, ice clouds, water vapors, and temperature profiles. Meanwhile, the EMUS will measure the mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and oxygen in the upper atmosphere. Finally, the EXI will take high resolution pictures of Mars while collecting data on the optical depth of water-ice in the atmosphere as well as Mars’ ozone profile.

The Emirates Mars Mission represents UAE’s first ever attempt in launching a probe into the solar system. It is a part of UAE’s plan for the future when this oil-rich country can no longer depend on its petroleum resources as its primary revenue generator. Because it is a relatively newcomer to Outer Space, UAE is taking a hybrid approach in developing its space program: partnering with countries that have extensive Outer Space experience for its actual missions; this will train its seminal class of rocket and Outer Space pioneers in real-time. Through missions like the Emirates Mars Mission, UAE is hoping to rapidly develop and flourish a knowledge-centric industry for its future.

Tianwen-1

Launched on July 23, 2020 at 12:41pm local time from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, Tianwen-1—Chinese for ‘Heavenly Questions’—is China’s first independent Mars mission. Tianwen-1 also hopes to become China’s first successful Mars mission. On its first attempt, China had its Mars orbiter, Yinghuo-1, hitch a ride onboard Russia’s Fobos-Grunt spacecraft; but, the mission failed shortly after launch when Fobos-Grunt could not leave Low Earth Orbit due to a malfunction.

Now almost nine years later, China is attempting its second Mars mission completely on its own. Onboard the mission’s Long March 5 rocket are both an orbiter and a rover, raising the stakes of the mission. The combined mass of the rover and orbiter weighs 5 tons fully fueled. Two to three months after its Mars arrival, the probe will send down its 240 kilogram rover to a landing site in Utopia Planitia region (mid-northern latitudes) of Mars. If its rover successfully lands on Mars, China will only have become the third nation to accomplish this rare feat. The Tianwen-1 rover will have six instruments onboard: several multispectral and terrain cameras, subsurface exploration radars, as well as magnetic field and climate detectors. Meanwhile, the Tianwen-1 orbiter will have seven instruments: two cameras, an orbiting subsurface exploration radar, a mineralogy spectrometer, a magnetometer, ion and neutral particle analyzer, and an energetic particle analyzer.

The primary objective of Tianwen-1 is to conduct an extensive survey of Mars. The rover will be used to probe and examine specific areas of scientific interests in greater detail. Five particular goals have been set to accomplish this objective: (1) mapping out Mars’ morphology and geological structures, (2) analyzing Mars’ surface soil characteristics and water-ice distribution, (3) studying Mars surface material composition, (4) recording measurements on the Mars’ ionosphere and its surface climate and environment, and (5) examining Mars’ various physical fields and internal structure.

Tianwen-1’s rover mission is expected to last for 90 Martian days. While the orbiter will serve as a communication relay between the rover and Earth, it will also study Mars and its atmosphere for about one Martian year (687 Earth days). This Mars mission is also significant for the future of China’s space program: its space agency is hoping that the knowledge gained by Tianwen-1 will be used to prepare it for an ambitious Mars sample return mission by the end of the 2020s.

Mars 2020

Mars 2020 is NASA’s fifth landing mission to the red planet. Following Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity, Perseverance is seeking to become NASA’s latest rover to examine first-hand the Martian surface. Successfully launched at 7:50 am local time on July 30, 2020 onboard ULA’s Atlas V rocket, the Perseverance rover is due for a Mars landing at the Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021.

Mars 2020’s primary objective is to explore for signs of ancient life and collect samples for a potential sample return mission in the future. To carry out this objective, Perseverance will have seven instruments: (1) Mastcam-Z, a sophisticated camera system that will determine the mineralogy of Martian surface and aid in the rover’s navigation; (2) SuperCam, an imaging system that will conduct chemical composition analysis and mineralogy at a distance; (3) an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer and high-resolution imager called PIXL to determine the elemental composition of Martian surface; (4) a spectrometer with UV laser called SHERLOC to map mineralogy and organic compounds; (5) MOXIE, a technology demonstration instrument seeking to produce oxygen from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide; (6) MEDA sensors that will collect Martian weather metrics such as temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, relative humidity and dust size as well as shape; and (7) RIMFAX, a radar that will penetrate the Martian surface and create a centimeter-scale resolution of the subsurface geologic structure. Not including its retractable arm, the Perseverance rover is about 10 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet tall. It comes in at 2,260 pounds. The mission is expected to last for at least one Mars year.

Another unique aspect of Perseverance is that another technology platform, a helicopter named Ingenuity, is hitching a ride on the rover’s belly. Ingenuity has an independent mission: to serve as a viability test for powered flight on a foreign planet with a thin atmosphere. If successful, Ingenuity will provide scientists another mean of examining Mars on future missions: going to places that are too steep or slippery for a rover. Ingenuity weighs 4 pounds and has a rechargeable solar power source. It has two 4-foot-long rotor systems that can create 2,400 revolutions per minute. It will carry two cameras, a laser altimeter, and inertial sensors.

Destination Mars 2021

With the launch window to Mars only opening up once approximately every 2 years, this is the first time that three nations from three different continents are all sending Martian payloads at the same time. While each has its own independent objectives and criteria for success, these missions demonstrate that our natural curiosity for the universe is a common trait across humanity. While these spacecrafts and payloads might carry a specific nation’s flag, their accomplishments are for the Earth to claim and celebrate. With Venus showing potential signs for life, could Mars be next? These three missions might tell us soon, so stay tuned!