It’s not exactly a traffic jam, but the area around Mars will be busier than usual this month. The United Arab Emirates’ Hope spacecraft is expected to reach Mars’ orbit on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, China’s Tianwen-1 Probe enters the space followed by NASA’s Perseverance rover on February 18th. The rover is expected to make an automated trip through the atmosphere to land in a crater.
NASA Scientist Briony Horgan says, “We’ve spent eight years preparing … so it’s a little overwhelming that all of that hangs on just seven minutes of nail-biting descent through the atmosphere to the surface.”