Page 10 - Curiosity_May2021

A Race to Mars
Keshav Bhatter
10
Perseverance Rover
from a reconnaissance orbit and then land and explore further. Objectives of Perseverance include assessment of the planet’s past life, geology, air densi-
ty, and many more. Its rover weighs around 1 ton (1000 kg); it is 10 ft. in height and it has 23 cameras. It drives with a plutonium battery and also comprises of small helicopter weighing around 2 kg. This will also convert the carbon dioxide into oxygen, extract rock samples, etc. It has already extracted first Oxygen from Mars on April 22.
India has successfully launched its mission to Mars orbit in 2014, ‘MAN- GALYAAN’, using a shoe-string budget. The maiden interplanetary mission of ISRO launched by PSLV-C25. The major objective of the mission is exploration of surface features, morphology, min- eralogy and atmosphere of Mars using indigenous scientific instruments.
The author is a member of SciComm VIPNET club (VP-DL0169). Email: anurag@scicomm.in
May 2021
round July 2020, there were a series of missions to the Red planet by many nations. Several countries and pri-
vate agencies competing in this space race, like USA, China, India, SpaceX and many more.
In 2020, UAE launched its ‘HOPE’ mission with the help of Japan, cele- brating its 50th anniversary. After that China launched its ‘TIANWEN-1’ to Mars and later NASA (National Aer- onautics and Space Administration) launched its mission ‘PERSEVERENCE’.
You might have noticed all these missions were sent in the same month. You know why? Because Mars is nearest to the Earth at this time and this occurs once every two years. Also, you should know that with respect to Earth, Mars has 687 days in a year!
The HOPE mission was the first such mission of Emirates. The Mission aims to use it to transform global science, the nation's space sector, and its economy. TIANWEN-1 aims to study the target site
SPACE QUIZ
Q.1. How many satellites were launched by SpaceX which has created a new world record for the maximum
number of satellites sent to space on
a single rocket?
1. 104
2. 143
3. 145
4. 139
Q.2. When did India launch its 1st satellite named ‘ARYABHATTA’?
1. 19 April, 1975
2. 20 April, 1975
3. 18 April, 1975
4. 21 April, 1975
Q.3. Which is the first rocket to run on biofuel?
1. FALCON-9
2. PSLV
3. STARDUST 1.0
4. STARLINK
Q.4. What is mission Artemis?
1. It is proposed by NASA.
2. It will send humans to the moon.
3. 1st women and 2nd man to stay
for 1 month.
4. All of the above.
Send us the correct answers of the quiz at
curiosity@vigyanprasar.gov.in to win exciting prizes.