BBC Sky at Night

NEW ARRIVALS ON MARS

HOPE PROBE, 10 FEBRUARY 2021

Three Mars-bound spacecraft set off within days of each other in February – the Emirates Mars Mission, China’s Tianwen-1 and NASA’s Mars 2020 – but it was the UAE (United Arab Emirates) that first successfully entered the Red Planet’s orbit, returning this moody shot encapsulating the mysteries waiting to be unwrapped by all three.

The new kids on the planetary spaceflight block, the

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from BBC Sky at Night

BBC Sky at Night2 min read
Comets And Asteroids
Minor planet 2 Pallas reaches opposition on 17 May when it can be found shining within the stars of Hercules at magnitude +8.9. At this brightness, it’s a tricky binocular find, but a small telescope should pick it up without any difficulty. Pallas w
BBC Sky at Night1 min read
On Facebook
Many of you headed to Facebook to welcome the return of The Sky at Night to our TV screens in April: Stuart Sumner At last. Lawrence Craus Love this programme. David Simmons Great news. A bright, intelligent programme amongst so much dross! Christoph
BBC Sky at Night3 min read
Build A Parallax-measuring Tool
Hold up a finger and look at it with just one eye, then switch to just the other and you'll see your finger appear to ‘jump’ from side to side. The further away the finger, the smaller the jump. This apparent shift of a nearby object against a distan

Related Books & Audiobooks