American space agency NASA is reportedly anticipating a traffic jam at Mars in 2021. A host of spacecraft are in the lineup to be launched for arrival at the Red Planet in February 2021.
The best time to launch a spacecraft to Mars comes every 26 months when the planet is in the best alignment position with Earth. The next time period that can make the best use of the perfect alignment window happens to be in July/August 2020. Not surprisingly, the 2020 launch window will see a plethora of spacecraft from various nations and private companies taking off for Mars.
In the lineup for journey to Mars are Europe and China, both of which are planning to launch rovers to the Red Planet in 2020. Furthermore, ESA wants to send an additional lander and CNSA will also launch an accompanying orbiter and lander. Meanwhile, India’s space agency ISRO is going to launch its second orbiter to Mars and is also considering sending over a rover and/or a lander.
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