Just s bit over an hour from now the Perseverance rover will land on mars. First landing since 2012 when the Curiosity started it's mission. Perseverance isn't the only mission to Mars this year. Earlier this month Emirates Mars Missions probe Hope arrived at the orbit of Mars soon followed by China's Tianwen-1. Neither of these missions landed to the planet itself although Tianwen-1 includes a rover that is planned to land to land on the planet later this year.
It's no coincidence all these three mission arriving at Mars so close to each other. Due to difference between the year of Earth and Mars they are closest to each other roughly every two years. It just makes sense to send these missions when the distance is as close as possible.
In addition to the rover the mission also includes an experimental helicopter named Ingenuity. But for us Finns the most important tech on board are the sensors made by a Finnish company Vaisala. While we might have our own space program we are proud to be onboard on such exiting missions.
What makes the Perseverance mission the most exiting is it's mission to look for ancient life signs on Mars. It will also be the first mission to attempt to bring samples back to Earth.