It may be millions of miles away, but the earth has not forgotten that Mars is celebrating a great feast. On February 7, 2021, the red planet celebrates the new year – at least according to our calendar on earth.
Since one Mars year is 687 Earth days (and 668.6 Mars days, or sols), the event occurs only about every two Earth years, characterized by the spring / autumn equation in the northern and southern hemispheres, respectively.
Since the current Mars calendar began in 1955, it makes the new year March 36.
This is going to be a big one for our planetary friend. Three missions are due to arrive on Mars in the coming days. On February 9, the United Arab Emirates sent a probe called Al-Amal, or Hope, which would arrive first. It will study Mars’ atmosphere and weather, with a view to judging the planet for a human settlement.
The Chinese Tianwen-1 is expected to reach orbit Mars on February 10. The mission consists of an orbit, a lander and a rover with solar power, the last two of which will be deployed to the surface in May, for a comprehensive study of the Utopia impact basin.
The US has sent NASA’s Perseverance, a rover that would land in the Jezero crater on February 18, a target rich in clay – proof that the region once contained water. The wanderer will seek evidence of past life and habitability and collect monsters that are returned to earth by two other missions currently being developed.
It is no coincidence that all three missions arrive at the same time: due to the challenges involved in sending a spacecraft to Mars, there is a window that appears approximately every two years and two months, making it possible to spacecraft to reach Mars with minimum energy. require. The window was recently in July to September last year.
That the new arrivals are all taking place on the new year of Mars is therefore a happy coincidence. As all three missions explore different parts of Mars, Mars Year 36 promises a brave new era for Mars science.
So happy new year, Mars! We hope you like your new buddies. And may we celebrate with you in person soon.
You can read more about the March year on the ESA website.