Predicting Human Landings On Mars
In recent times the so-called ‘space race’ between nations and organisations seems to have focused on the planet Mars. No humans have yet been to the Red Planet, but ever since the Viking Lander spacecraft touched down on the surface of Mars in 1976, there have been persistent rumours of planned missions trying to clear the way for some sort of human exploration. Since evidence of water was found on Mars for the first time in 2018, speculation has intensified that we may see a human landing attempted soon. With a future manned Mars mission being such a hot topic, online casinos in Canada have given players the option to place bets on when these will actually take place.
Some Mars facts
When bookmakers also get involved in such speculation, it begins to feel as if a Mars landing is becoming more of a possibility. So perhaps it’s time for a quick brush up on a few Mars facts: Did you know? Mars is called the Red Planet because, well, it looks quite red! That’s because its surface contains lots of (red) iron oxide. But that’s ‘rust’ to you and me, so it could easily have been called the ‘Rusty Planet’. Mars is only half the size of Earth, and a lot colder, but a Martian day is still only slightly longer than ours. However, a year on Mars lasts nearly twice as long as here – 687 Earth days. So you would have far fewer birthdays to celebrate, and Christmas would take forever to arrive! But will it be a government-sponsored agency like NASA, or a commercial company such as Boeing or Blue Origin that achieves the first ‘Mars human landing’? In truth, no one really knows. There are, however, online casinos in Canada which will, for instance, offer you odds on who will get there first. Let’s have a look at some of the casino odds you can get for predicting the first organisation to send humans to Mars.
Commercial Operators
A private company may be a reasonable bet to put a few tourists into orbit for a short while, but could they really guide intrepid explorers to a safe landing on the Fourth Rock From The Sun? And would they, for instance, have the know-how to keep a space traveller’s feet firmly planted on the (Martian) ground, where the weak gravity means anyone can easily jump three times higher than they ever could back here on terra firma? The bookies are not really sure, but they’ll give you odds of +400 that Blue Origin (the brainchild of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos) will be the first to do so, +500 on Boeing’s ‘deep space concept’ pulling off the feat, and +2000 that it will be President Trump’s own new Space Force.
Government-backed agencies
America’s Nasa, of course, have their own long-term Mars Exploration Program, and Russia too has had un-manned Martian landings and an ongoing interest in the second-smallest planet in our solar system (after Mercury). More recently, China has also proved a serious space exploration contender. It’s true to say that many nations, but especially the USA, Russia and China, would relish the prestige attached to a successful Mars landing. After all, Russia was first to put a man in space, and the Americans were the first to land men on the moon. But which of these three stands the best chance of pulling off a Mars landing? The bookies odds for Russia are +4500, the NASA Space Agency comes in at +6000, and China’s odds are rated at +8500.
Money talks
The Hope Mars Mission also known as the Emirates Mars Mission, is an uncrewed space exploration probe to Mars. This mission is funded by the United Arab Emirates, who hope the craft will land on Mars in 2021 – the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Arab Emirates. This clearly gives the UAE a strong motivation to develop their Mars exploration project. The endeavour is a joint venture between the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and the University of Colorado and Arizona State University, which in turn suggests the project has strong financial backing and access to plenty of space expertise. Clearly, what has been announced is an unmanned mission to study the Mars climate both daily and through seasonal cycles, weather events such as the dust storms in the lower atmosphere, as well as the weather patterns which occur on Mars in different geographic locations. The scientific community is interested in questions such as why the Martian atmosphere is leaking hydrogen and oxygen into space, and the reason why Mars experiences such harsh climate changes. Nevertheless, the bookmakers are keeping something of an open mind on the prospects of any UAE crewed landing, which is why they have set their published odds at +20000.