NASA lands Perseverance Rover and more – biggest space stories this year

2021 has been filled with stories of what has changed in space exploration from the Mars Rover landing to the SpaceX satellite launches. Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the UAE, and China are all interested in exploring the red planet.

NASA’s landing of the Perseverance Rover on Mars in a deep crater called Jezero was one of the most impressive space adventures of 2021. For those who have been tracking its progress seeing its land was an amazing experience filled with wonder and awe.

When the landing was confirmed the people in the Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles burst into cheers and applause when it was confirmed the rover had survived the descent. The journey has taken nearly seven months, covering 293 million miles before beginning its approach to touchdown.

The UAE space agency in the United Arab Emirates released the first photo of Mars that was taken by its hope Probe.  China’s Tianwen-1mission also maneuvered into orbit around Mars earlier this month.

The Spanish startup Zero 2 Infinity has plans to send humans into space in giant helium balloons for the cost of $132,000 each. The price of Zero 2 is quite a bit less expensive than SpaceX’s Mars mission that is planning to send humans to the planet by 2026.  Recently SpaceX has started launching many satellites, sending 60 our to orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket’s booster did not successfully complete its landing on February 16.

Not to be left behind Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin, is going to start commanding more attention. When Bezo’s announced he was stepping down earlier this year he said he planned on dedicating more time to the company. His company website states: “We’re committed to building a road to space so our children can build the future.”

For more news: SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet has now 10,000 users worldwide