Mars Missions¶
We can look at Mars missions using a data table from Wikipedia.
url = 'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missions_to_Mars'
import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_html(url)[0]
df
| Spacecraft | Launch Date | Operator | Mission[1] | Outcome[2] | Remarks | Carrier rocket[3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1M No.1 | 10 October 1960 | OKB-1 Soviet Union | Flyby | NaN | Failed to orbit | Molniya |
| 1 | 1M No.2 | 14 October 1960 | OKB-1 Soviet Union | Flyby | NaN | Failed to orbit | Molniya |
| 2 | 2MV-4 No.1 | 24 October 1962 | Soviet Union | Flyby | NaN | Booster stage ("Block L") disintegrated in LEO | Molniya |
| 3 | Mars 1(2MV-4 No.2) | 1 November 1962 | Soviet Union | Flyby | NaN | Communications lost before flyby | Molniya |
| 4 | 2MV-3 No.1 | 4 November 1962 | Soviet Union | Lander | NaN | Never left LEO | Molniya |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 57 | Emirates Mars Mission | 19 July 2020[23] | MBRSC United Arab Emirates | Orbiter | NaN | Arrives February 2021. | H-IIA |
| 58 | Tianwen-1 orbiter | 23 July 2020[24] | CNSA China | Orbiter | NaN | Proposed orbit insertion: 11-24 February 2021 | Long March 5 |
| 59 | Tianwen-1 lander/rover | 23 July 2020[24] | CNSA China | Lander/rover | NaN | Proposed landing: 23 April 2021 | Long March 5 |
| 60 | Perseverance rover | 30 July 2020[25] | NASA United States | Rover | NaN | Proposed landing: 18 February 2021[26] | Atlas V 541 |
| 61 | Ingenuity helicopter | 30 July 2020[27] | NASA United States | Helicopter | NaN | Proposed landing: 18 February 2021[27] To be d... | Atlas V 541 |
62 rows × 7 columns
Then we can create a new column called Year from the Launch Date column, and graph the number of missions over time.
df['Year'] = df['Launch Date'].str.split(' ', expand=True)[2]
import cufflinks as cf
cf.go_offline()
df.groupby(by='Year')['Year'].count().iplot(kind='bar', yTitle='Number of Missions', xTitle='Year', title='Mars Missions over Time')
