Happy New Year Mars! Today is the equinox on Mars, and the beginning of a new “year 36” on Mars.
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Happy New Year Mars! Today is equinox on Mars, and the start of a new year on Mars – and the first week will be very busy.
Why does equinox mean the beginning of the Martian year? What is the Mars 2020 mission? And when will the next Mars land?
Here’s everything you need to know about the “Year 36” martian, as a year works on Mars as three spaceships are captured by the red planet and go astray. into orbit after traveling 495 million miles from Earth.
How do days and years work on Mars?
One year on Mars is 668 “Sols” – the time it takes the planet to make one turn around its axis – with one Sol measuring 24 hours and 39 minutes. That equates to 687 days on Earth. That is the time it takes for Mars to orbit the sun once.
Why is New Year’s Day on Mars today?
This is the first day of “Year 36” on Mars – largely because in 1955 it was decided by NASA to name Mars “Year 1” on this date (the equinox “north”). Mars).
How the seasons work on Mars
A Martian year is twice as long as our year, but it works the same way. Today it is the equinox to the north, meaning spring in the north and fall in the south, with hemispheres receiving more and less sunlight depending on where the planet in solar orbit.
However, Mars orbits the sun on a slightly elliptical orbit, so the seasons are not the same length – and the upcoming season is the longest.
February 7, 2021 marks the beginning of Year 36 on Mars.
ESA
When are the Seasons on Mars?
Here are the “Earthly” dates for the upcoming equinoxes and solstices in the next Martian year, provided for the northern hemisphere:
- Spring Equinox: February 7, 2021
- Summer Solstice: August 25, 2021
- Fall equinox: February 24, 2022
- Winter Solstice: July 21, 2022
Which spacecraft is arriving in Mars this week?
After a seven-month journey from Earth three major missions will come to Mars and enter orbit around the red planet. They are – in order of time according to arrival:
Tuesday, February 9, 2021: Emirates Mars (EMM) mission to Mars
An EMM carries a probe called Hope, a Mars orbiter was developed by the UAE. After entering a 27-minute “dark half-hour” orbital between 7:00 pm UAE time (10:00 am EST / 7:00 am PST) it enters orbit and begins to orbit Martian atmosphere survey in late 2021.
It aims to take the first complete picture of Mars’ climate throughout the entire Martian year, something that has never been done before. This is the UAE’s first space mission, and marks 50 years of the country.
Wednesday, February 10, 2021: Tianwen-1 Mission in China to Mars
NASA’s China National Space Administration (CNSA) will hit Mars when Tianwen-1 going into orbit. Similar to NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, Tianwen-1 has a Mars rover, which uses radar to detect water. However, that rover will not come down to the Martian surface until May 2021.
If successful then China will be the second country to successfully launch a rover on Mars. Tianwen-1 means “questions to heaven. ”
Thursday, February 18, 2021: NASA’s Mars 2020 Mission to Mars
NASA’s Sustainability a rover is targeted to land in a Jezero crater on Mars on February 18, 2021 at around 12:55 pm PST / 3: 55 pm EST. It also lasts for at least one Martian year.
The three spacecraft must take the necessary maneuver to slow down as they approach Mars, from about 75,000 mph to just 11,000 mph. Go too soon? Mrs. Mars. Go too slow? Accident into Mars. This is going to be tight.
This image from ESA’s Mars Express shows a beautiful piece of the Red Planet from the north pole … [+]
ESA / DLR / FU Berlin (G. Neukum), CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
When is the Next New Year’s Day on Mars?
In 687 days, means that the next New Year’s Day at Mars will take place on December 26, 2022.
Will Mars be seen tonight?
Yes – and from anywhere on Earth. However, you need to get involved fairly quickly if you want to see how Mars looks from Earth. If you want to find out where Mars is tonight, head out just after dark and look south. High in the sky you can see an orange-orange “star” with nothing nearby that could be confusing. However, by the end of March it is close to sunset winning the southwest, and much more pronounced – it is declining with each passing day.
That’s because Mars was at its brightest and brightest during a resisting in October 2020 when it was shining at a magnitude of -2.6, which is brighter than Jupiter. Mars makes its closest approaches to Earth during opponents, which occurs every 26 months. The next one is December 8, 2022.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.