Mars rover landing: Destinations to visit on Mars when space tourism becomes a possibility

A Mars rover can be considered as a small vehicle that is designed to run on the surface of the planet Mars upon and they also have several advantages over the landers which are stationary. They are able to cover and examine a lot more territory as they don't need to stay at one place, unlike the landers. Here's everything you need to know about the Mars Perseverance rover and some cool destinations for future Mars tourists when space tourism becomes a possibility.

Also read | Scientists 'accidentally Discover' Life Far Underneath The Ice Shelves Of The Antarctic

Mars Rover Landing

Also read | Astronomers Detect Residue Of Earth-like Planets Orbiting Four Dwarf Stars In Deep Space

• Olympus Mons
  • This is a volcano located in the Tharsis region of volcanoes and its height is about 3 times that of Earth's Mount Everest. The volcano has a low slope of 5 per cent will make it easy for future Mars explorers to climb onto it.

• Valles Marineris
  • While the Olympus Mons is the largest volcano of the solar system, the Valles Marineris is the largest canyon which stretches to about 3000 km.
• Gale Crater and Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons)
  • This is a popular crater as it came into existence when the Curiosity rover landed on Mars in 2012. Another reason why this crater was made famous is due to it being major evidence of the existence of water on the planet.
• Recurring Slope Lineae in Hale Crater
  • This is one of the features of Mars known as Recurring Slope Lineae and during warm weather, this is formed on the sides of craters.

Mars Rovers List

A total of 7 rovers have been dispatched to Mars and these are mentioned below:

• Mars 2, Prop-M rover, 1971
  • Mars 2 landing failed taking Prop-M with it.
• Mars 3, Prop-M rover, 1971
  •  This was lost when Mars 3 lander stopped communicating 104.5 seconds after landing
• Sojourner rover, Mars Pathfinder
  • This landed successfully on July 4, 1997.
  • Communications were lost on September 27, 1997.
• Spirit (MER-A), Mars Exploration Rover
  • This was launched on June 10, 2003,[10] 
  • landed on January 4, 2004.
  • Nearly 6 years after the original mission limit, Spirit had covered a total distance of 7.73 km (4.80 mi) but its wheels became trapped in sand.
  • The last communication received from the rover was on March 22, 2010.
• Opportunity (MER-B), Mars Exploration Rover
  • Launched on July 7, 2003
  • Landed on January 25, 2004.
• Curiosity of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
  • Mission by NASA
  • Launched November 26, 2011
  • Landed at the Aeolis Palus plain near Aeolis Mons in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012.
  • This rover known as Curiosity is still operational as of February 2021.
• Perseverance, nicknamed Percy
  • This rover was designed for exploring the Jezero crater on Mars and this was a part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission.
  • Launched on 30 July 2020
  • Scheduled to land on Mars on 18 February 2021, 3 p.m EST/8 p.m UTC.
  • This rover is carrying a total of 7 scientific instruments
  • Has a total of 19 cameras and two microphones.

Also read | NASA's 'Mars Helicopter' To Reach Red Planet This Week For Its First 'controlled Flight'

Also read | Scientists Discover Rare Backward Star, Rotating In The Opposite Direction