CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The European Space Agency tweeted their congratulations: Congratulations to China’s Tianwen-1 team for the successful landing of their Zhurong rover on Mars!

Detailed explanation-2: -The Hope probe was launched from Japan by a Japanese H-IIA launch vehicle, built and operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) on 19 July 2020 and arrived at Mars on 9 February 2021. It became the first mission to Mars by any West Asian, Arab or Muslim-majority country.

Detailed explanation-3: -In 1971, the Soviet Union finally reached the Red Planet. Its Mars 2 orbiter, which launched May 19, 1971, arrived on Nov. 2. However, when the Mars 2 lander was deployed it crashed, inoperable, on the surface.

Detailed explanation-4: -There have been altogether 22 successful Mars missions of which the United States and the Soviet Union are the only two countries to land a spacecraft on Mars.

Detailed explanation-5: -NOZOMI (PLANET-B) was Japan’s first Mars explorer and its main mission was to research Martian upper atmosphere by focusing on the interaction with solar wind. On July 4, 1998, the explorer was launched by M-V-3 rocket from Kagoshima Space Center in Uchinoura.