The race to Mars has heated up recently as the Japanese Space Agency taking the forefront with plans to bring soil samples back from the Mars region ahead of the United States and also of China which started Mars missions last year. The aim of the Japanese mission is mainly to find clues to the planet’s origin and traces of possible life there.
Japan is planning to launch an explorer in 2024 to land on Phobos, the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, to collect 10 grams of soil and bring it back to Earth in 2029.
The project is expected to put Japan ahead of the United States and China in bringing back samples from the Martian region despite starting later.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has already landed in a Mars crater, where it is to collect 31 samples that are to be returned to Earth with help from the European Space Agency as early as 2031, while China which became the second country to land and operate a spacecraft on Mars plans to bring back samples around 2030.
The route to the Red Planet has been very busy recently with six probes already orbiting it and sending back data. The key players until recently were Russia, the US, the European Space Agency and India. However, the fact that the Mars mission cost has dropped significantly opened the door for other states to join in, with UAE launching its first Mars mission at a cost of only $200 million.
With the decrease in expenses and as the red planet is in its nearest possible position, several countries may vie for achieving scientific prestige by launching new missions to Mars.
Space race is also simmering among a group of business tycoons, who came from other industries ready to invest billions of dollars to achieve their rendevoux-with-stars dreams.
Multi billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson have decided to pump vast sums of their wealth to creating a modern space race for ultra-rich men.
Space race has been there since the end of World War II. It began with competition between the US and the ten Soviet Union for national pride and military advantage.
It’s true that such a race was the driver for much technological advancement that benefited humanity and became part of or modern civilisation. Also deep-space exploration might provide clues to life elsewhere, and insight into how humans could adapt to much harsher environments.
However, even such good causes can’t justify the hot race between today’s advanced countries to reach other planets, especially at a time when the Earth grapples with Covid-19, major climate crisis, economic meltdown and rising political conflicts.
But a deeper look can tell that race to the star may be their way to settle some of their earthy problems taking their advancement to Mars to prove their ability to run for political, military and ideological dominance throughout the decades to come.
