For spacecraft to reach Mars, they must first escape Earth’s gravity by using powerful rocket fuel and launch at exactly the right moment – both planets orbit around the Sun at different speeds and distances; every 26 months or so they come closer together, making travel to Mars much simpler.
Spirit
A six-wheeled vehicle equipped with cameras and scientific instruments to explore Mars. Zubrin’s plan involves equipping this spacecraft with hydrogen/carbon dioxide reactors which produce oxygen/fuel for its return journey home, thus saving cargo space on outbound flights.
Spacecraft are protective vessels used to transport cargo between Earth and Mars once their launch vehicle has propelled it beyond atmospheric and gravitational pull of Mars’ atmosphere. Their mechanical units ensure safe navigation through Martian atmosphere before landing it safely on surface of planet.
As it approached Mars’ atmosphere, encased in an aeroshell and heat shield, its descent began in an atmospheric parachute deployment mode. When entering thicker atmosphere layers, another parachute deployed to slow the spacecraft’s rate of descent further. Prior to reaching its target ground location, an overhead structure gently lowered it onto tethers before gently depositing it there while an “sky crane” hovered nearby.
Opportunity
Future Mars missions must collect rocks and soil samples that can be brought back to Earth for further examination by scientists, as this may reveal past life on Mars or provide insights into its unique environment. The best samples may reveal signs of past civilization or provide insights into its formation.
At present, Spirit and Opportunity, two six-wheeled robot rovers on Mars, are exploring its surface. These rovers have sent back stunning images from Mars’ surface while their instruments search for evidence of its former wet climate.
The Panoramic Camera (Pancam), is one of the cameras installed on the rover to study surface materials’ texture, color and mineralogy. A turret on its robotic arm allows drillers, scoopers, or brushers to collect samples that can later be put into containers for further analysis. Other instruments include Mossbauer spectrometer for studying iron-bearing minerals as well as Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), which measures element abundances in rocks and soil.
Phoenix
The phoenix is a mythological bird associated with the sun that regenerates itself through cycled regeneration, serving as a symbol for rebirth as its followers believe they arise from its predecessor’s ashes. Due to its vibrant colors and association with sun worshipping cultures such as Egyptian and Persian traditions, its popularity remains widespread today.
The Phoenix Mars Lander successfully arrived in the polar region of our planet in 2011 equipped with a rover capable of digging into Martian ice samples and carrying sophisticated biological experiments intended to detect microscopic life forms on Mars. It is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator which provides both electricity and heat;
Mars 2020 will consist of an orbiter and lander landed at Jezero Crater to gather surface samples, store them underground, and retrieve them later by future missions. Additionally, the lander will carry a Mast Camera (Mastcam) and Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam). A spectrometer on board will measure elemental composition by sending laser pulses onto Martian rocks and soil that cause small particles of material to break apart and emit light – measuring their elemental composition through laser pulses that cause small particles of material to break apart and emit light – measuring elemental composition using laser pulses which cause small particles of material break apart and emit light through laser pulses onto them – similar to Earth.
Curiosity
Curiosity, named for Walt Whitman’s “noiseless patient spider,” is one of the most advanced and capable Mars craft ever. Equipped with a 2.1-meter triple-jointed robotic arm for sample preparation and examination as well as multicolor cameras that take photos and images of rocks, its instruments can also determine how rocks formed as well as whether or not still or flowing water was involved in their formation, while one instrument called SAM detects signs of carbon compounds necessary for life in rock samples or soil samples.
Curiosity has discovered evidence that Mars may have supported early life, including organic carbon preserved in rock layers and tantalizing seasonal changes in methane concentration in its atmosphere. Now it is climbing Mount Sharp to study sedimentary rock layers further.
Curiosity landed safely thanks to cutting-edge technological innovations, including a rocket-assisted jump from its mother ship. Its durability can be attributed to not relying solely on solar panels but using plutonium fuel instead to convert heat energy into electricity for powering it.