Within the last 20 years, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent four missions to Mars – Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission (2011) which landed the Curiosity rover; Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter mission (2013); InSight mission (2018); and Mars 2020 mission (2020) that carried the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter. All the four are operational to date.
After a precision landing in the Gale Crater in 2012, Curiosity has been collecting data about the Martian climate and geology, and searching for biosignatures on the planet. The rover found proof of an ancient mega-flood and organic chemicals in the crater.
The MAVEN orbiter has been zipping around Mars gathering details of the past and present of the Martian atmosphere since 2014. Meanwhile, the InSight lander, has been studying whatever goes on underneath! It does this by monitoring “marsquakes”, and using them to map the interior of the planet. Finally, Perseverance is also looking for signs of life on Mars.
Picture Credit : Google
