Two 'first-timer' Mars missions slipped flawlessly into orbit this week
Scott Sutherland
After travelling for millions of kilometres through interplanetary space, two missions from first-time Mars explorers have arrived at their destination!
Mars' active robot population is getting a substantial boost in 2021. The Curiosity rover is still exploring Gale Crater and Mount Sharp, and the InSight lander continues to listen for marsquakes, with a new mission extension until the end of 2022. In orbit, there's NASA's Mars Odyssey, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, plus Mars Express and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter from the ESA, and the Mars Orbiter Mission from India's ISRO.