Mars is about to be invaded by planet Earth — big time. Mars has long exerted a powerful hold on the imagination but has proved to be the graveyard for numerous missions. China will launch its Mars rover and an orbiter sometime around July 23, 2020, in a mission named Tianwen, or Questions for Heaven. (Andy Wong/The Associated Press)Only the U.S. has successfully put a spacecraft on Mars, doing it eight times, beginning with the twin Vikings in 1976. Ground controllers will be helpless, given the 10 minutes it takes radio transmissions to travel one-way between Earth and Mars.

Source: CBC News July 13, 2020 12:04 UTC