A spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates was orbited around Mars in the first interplanetary mission in the Arab world on Tuesday, the first of three robotic explorers to reach the red planet over the next week to leth.
The orbiter, called Amal, traveled Arab for Hope, 300 million miles in nearly seven months to get to Mars with the goal of mapping its atmosphere each season.
A mixing orbiter and a lander from China are close behind, scheduled to arrive on the planet Wednesday. It orbits Mars until the rover separates and tries to land on the surface in May to find signs of ancient life.
A U.S. rover named Perseverance is expected to join the crowd next week, aiming to land on Feb. 18. This is the first leg in a U.S.-ten-year project European to bring Mars rocks back to Earth so that the planet once evidenced microscopic life.