China's space agency will reach a significant milestone on Wednesday as their spacecraft, Tianwen-1, is scheduled to attempt to orbit Mars. If successful, China plans to send a lander and robotic rover to the planet later this year, potentially joining NASA's trio of spacecraft studying the Martian surface. According to China, Tianwen-1 is expected to arrive at Mars on Wednesday. The China National Space Administration and state media have not given detailed information about the spacecraft's mission. The agency is known for being secretive about its missions, but has become more transparent in the past year, even broadcasting the launch of the Chang'e-4 mission to the moon. Tianwen-1 was launched in July, when Mars and Earth were closest to each other in their orbits around the sun. This enables a quick journey between the two planets. In order to align with Mars, the spacecraft has used its engines multiple times to adjust its trajectory. The latest engine firing took place on Feb 5, capturing images of Mars from a distance of approximately 1.3 million miles. The spacecraft will ignite its engines again on Wednesday to use up a significant amount of remaining fuel in order to slow down and be captured by Martian gravity. It will fly around at a safe distance in Martian orbit, along with other robotic explorers, to prepare for a future surface landing. Past missions to Mars have encountered difficulties, such as a Chinese mission in 2011 that failed to leave Earth's orbit due to a malfunctioning Russian rocket. In 1999, NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter was lost in the Martian atmosphere due to a navigation error caused by failure to convert English units to metric. In 1992, NASA was unable to communicate with its Mars Observer spacecraft just days before its scheduled arrival at Mars, possibly due to a fuel line issue. Following a failed attempt by the Soviet Mars 4 mission in 1974, the spacecraft drifted away from Mars after its retro rockets did not ignite. Despite the challenges of orbiting Mars, the real feat lies in successfully landing on the planet. The question remains: When will China achieve a successful Mars landing? The orbiter is equipped with a lander and rover that will undertake the challenging journey to the Martian surface. China has announced plans to land on Mars in May, aiming for Utopia Planitia in the northern hemisphere. This area was likely impacted by a meteor and was previously visited by NASA's Viking 2 lander in 1976. One objective of the Tianwen-1 mission is to study the distribution of ice in this region, which could be vital for future human colonization efforts on Mars. Landing on Mars is challenging due to the high speed at which spacecraft must descend and the thin atmosphere offering little resistance. Air resistance continues to create high levels of heat, which must be either absorbed or dispersed. Several Soviet, NASA, and European missions have failed, with only NASA successfully landing more than once. The Chinese spacecraft will spend several months circling Mars to assess systems and choose a safe landing location. If it successfully lands, the rover will require a name. Following nominations from individuals in China, a group of experts has chosen 10 semifinalists. These include Hongyi, named after a Chinese term representing determination and perseverance; Qilin, a mythical hoofed creature in Chinese folklore; and Nezha, a youthful deity known as a protector of rebellious youth. In addition to these achievements, China has recently made significant progress in space exploration. In July, China launched a mission to Mars, and since then, they have successfully completed a mission to the moon and back. The Chang’e-5 mission, which took place in November, involved the collection of lunar samples that were later brought back to Earth for further analysis by scientists. The most recent cache of moon rocks was collected during China's Chang'e-4 mission, the first to land on the far side of the moon, which is still ongoing more than two years after its launch. In addition to this mission, the United Arab Emirates' space agency sent an orbiter named Hope to Mars this year, arriving on Tuesday to study the planet's atmosphere and help scientists learn more about its weather patterns. The third newcomer to Mars will be Perseverance, NASA's latest rover, which was launched in July after the other two spacecraft. Instead of orbiting Mars, Perseverance will head straight for the planet's surface on Feb. 18. This robotic explorer will be NASA's fifth rover on Mars and is similar to Curiosity, currently investigating the Gale crater. Perseverance is equipped with different scientific tools and will explore the Jezero crater, a dry lakebed where scientists hope to find fossilized evidence of ancient Martian microbial life. The mission will also attempt to fly a helicopter in the thin Martian atmosphere, a first for the red planet. NASA's Ingenuity helicopter will be deployed by the rover shortly after landing on Mars. The helicopter will conduct test flights in the thin Martian atmosphere to show that exploring Mars from the air is possible. In addition to Ingenuity, there are currently six orbiters studying Mars from space, making it a busy time for spacecraft around the red planet. Three spacecraft were sent to Mars by NASA: Mars Odyssey, which was launched in 2001, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which was launched in 2005, and MAVEN, which departed Earth in 2013. Europe also has two spacecraft orbiting Mars: Mars Express orbiter, launched in 2003, and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, which took off in 2016 and is a joint project with Russia's space program. India's Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as Mangalyaan, launched in 2013, operates as the sixth spacecraft. Additionally, two American missions are currently operating on the Martian surface. Curiosity has been exploring Mars since 2012, accompanied by InSight, which has been investigating marsquakes and other internal characteristics of the planet since 2018. Another American mission, the Opportunity rover, ceased operation in 2019 due to a dust storm draining its power.