China's space agency is set to reach a significant milestone on Wednesday as the spacecraft Tianwen-1, launched in July, will attempt to orbit Mars. If successful, China plans to send a lander and rover to the red planet later this year, potentially joining NASA's missions already 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 mission. The agency is known for being secretive about its missions, but has been more open recently, including providing live coverage of the Chang'e-4 mission to the moon. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft was launched in July, taking advantage of a close approach between Mars and Earth during their orbits around the sun. This enables a relatively brief journey between the two planets. The spacecraft has used its engines multiple times to adjust its course and properly approach Mars. The most recent engine firing took place on Feb 5, with the probe sending back images of Mars from a distance of around 1.3 million miles. On Wednesday, the engine will be activated again to use up much of the spacecraft's remaining fuel in order to slow down significantly and be captured by Martian gravity. It will orbit Mars at a safe distance along with other robotic explorers before attempting a landing on the surface. The history of space travel is full of failed missions to Mars, such as a Chinese mission in 2011 that never left Earth's orbit due to a failed Russian rocket. Some spacecraft have also encountered issues while preparing to enter Martian orbit, like NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999, which burned in the Martian atmosphere due to a navigation error involving unit conversion. In 1992, NASA's Mars Observer spacecraft lost communication just days before reaching Mars, possibly due to a fuel line issue. The Soviet mission Mars 4 in 1974 also faced challenges when its retro rockets failed to fire. Landing on Mars is a difficult task, and the question remains: when will China successfully land on Mars? Their orbiter is equipped with a lander and a rover, which will face the challenging journey to the planet's surface. China has announced plans to land on Mars in May, with the specific location being Utopia Planitia. This area, which was previously visited by NASA's Viking 2 lander in 1976, is believed to have been impacted by a meteor. The Tianwen-1 mission aims to study the distribution of ice in this region, which could be crucial for potential human colonization efforts on Mars. Landing on Mars is a dangerous process due to the high speed at which spacecraft descend and the thin atmosphere that offers little resistance. Air resistance continues to create high levels of heat which must be either absorbed or dissipated. Several Soviet, NASA, and European missions have failed upon landing, with NASA being the only organization to successfully land intact multiple times. The Chinese spacecraft will spend several months orbiting Mars to assess systems and select a safe landing location. If the landing is successful, the rover will require a name. Following nominations from individuals in China, a group of experts has chosen 10 semifinalists. Among them are Hongyi, named after a term in Chinese representing ambition and persistence; Qilin, a mythical hoofed creature in Chinese culture; and Nezha, a young deity known for being a protector of rebellious youth. Additionally, China has been making significant strides in space exploration, with recent accomplishments including a mission to Mars launched in July, as well as the successful Chang’e-5 mission in November which collected lunar samples and returned them to Earth for further study by scientists. The most recent collection of moon rocks, the first since the Soviet Union's mission in 1976, was obtained by China's Chang'e-4 mission, which landed on the far side of the moon and is still operational with its Yutu-2 rover exploring the lunar surface. In 2021, the first robotic probe to reach Mars was the Hope orbiter from the United Arab Emirates, which will study the red planet's atmosphere to enhance scientists' understanding of Mars' weather patterns. The third recent arrival to Mars will be Perseverance, NASA's latest rover. It was launched in July after the other two spacecraft and will go directly to the planet's surface on Feb. 18 without orbiting Mars. Similar to Curiosity, NASA's fifth rover on Mars, Perseverance has different scientific instruments and will investigate the Jezero crater, a former lake where scientists hope to find evidence of ancient Martian microbial life. Additionally, the mission will include the first attempt to fly a helicopter in the thin Martian atmosphere. NASA's Ingenuity helicopter will be deployed by the rover shortly after landing. It will then conduct a series of test flights in the thin Martian atmosphere to show that exploration of Mars can be done both on the ground and in the air. In addition to Ingenuity, there are currently six orbiters around Mars studying the planet from space. 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 has two spacecraft currently in orbit around Mars. The Mars Express orbiter was launched in 2003, and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter was launched in 2016 in collaboration with Russia's space program. India also has a spacecraft orbiting Mars, the Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as Mangalyaan, which was launched in 2013. Additionally, there are two American missions operating on the surface of Mars. Since 2012, Curiosity has been actively exploring, accompanied by InSight since 2018, which has been investigating marsquakes and other internal characteristics of Mars. Unfortunately, the Opportunity rover, a third American mission, ceased operations in 2019 due to a dust storm draining its power.