The United Kingdom Space Agency is set to send spacecraft to Mars in search of water and possible life. NASA and other countries have initiated multiple Mars missions. They have sent rovers and landers to the far-red planet. Among 21 lander missions and 8 sub-lander missions, the Curiosity rover, Perseverance rover, and Tianwen-1 are currently in operation on Mars. They are helping the scientists find possible traces of life on the planet. SpaceX also has the Mars Colonisation Program.
The United Kingdom is not far behind. They have built a baffling Mars environment on the face of the Earth itself. The setup is made in Stevenage. The French aerospace company Airbus used red sand and rocks to recreate the surface of the planet that is circling the sun 140 million miles away. The objective is to test the ExoMars rover that will be used in the 2028 Mars mission by the UK.
In 2028, the craft will blast off on a mission to find signs of water on the red planet. According to scientists, Mars holds the potential to support life forms. Airbus, with the help of 3,500 employees, built the rover in Stevenage. In the year 2028, the aircraft will set out for the journey.
The company was supposed to make a deal with the European Space Agency for the thrusters for the landing module. However, it got delayed due to the delay in supply over the Ukraine war. An excited Chris Draper, exploration rovers program manager for Airbus, said, “Having built the rover at Stevenage, we’ll now be a big part of designing the lander to make sure she gets down safely.” According to him, the space operation had been a real success story for the UK.
The thriving space project in the United Kingdom contributes £17.5 billion (Rs 183 crore) a year to the economy without any rockets launched by the nation itself. However, Britain has received around 17 per cent of the world’s private investments in the space research sector since the year 2015.
Talking about the importance of space research in Britain, Space Minister Andrew Griffith said, “I see no reason why British firms should not be right at the forefront of efforts to build a new space-based economy.”
As part of the major project, Space Forge, the semiconductor maker based in Cardiff, Wales, is working to put a miniature factory in orbit very soon. The company is aiming to produce ultra-pure crystals to use on high-performance computer chips.
The Skyrora from Glasgow is preparing to launch similar craft from the SaxaVord spaceport in the Shetlands later this year. US aircraft giant Lockheed Martin will also take part in it.
Comments
0 comment