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US, China, UAE Sending Spacecraft to Mars This Week

VOA News

   In a fresh attempt to scout out signs of previous life on Mars, the
   United States, China, and the United Arab Emirates are sending out
   spacecraft to Mars, starting this week.

   The unmanned spacecraft are also analyzing the area to prepare for
   future astronauts.

   The U.S. is sending a rover named Perseverance to gather rock samples,
   and it will likely not return for ten years.

   Each spacecraft must go over 482 million kilometers to reach Mars,
   after which they must leave Earth's orbit and enter Mars'. The process
   of arriving alone takes at least six or seven months.

   The countries' goal is to find out if Mars had any signs of previous
   microscopic life. As has been previously determined, Mars used to have
   bodies of water, so it's possible the planet was also host to some type
   of life.

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