China’s Unmanned Tianwen 2m6a3 1 Spacecraft Successfully Enters Mars Orbit

In May or June, Tianwen-1 will attempt to land a capsule in the northern hemisphere of Mars. 486o29

By Reuters | Updated: 11 February 2021 12:37 IST

China’s Unmanned Tianwen-1 Spacecraft Successfully Enters Mars Orbit

Photo Credit: China National Space istration m4va

A black and white picture of Mars taken by Tianwen 1, the first snapshot from the Chinese craft

Highlights

The probe is one of three reaching Mars this month
Hope spacecraft launched by the UAE entered Mars' orbit on Tuesday
Tianwen-1 will have an orbiter component surveying Martian atmosphere

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An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft on Wednesday successfully entered orbit around Mars after a 6-1/2-month journey from Earth, China's space agency said, in the country's first independent mission to the red planet.

The robotic probe carried out a 15-minute burn of its thrusters at 7:52pm Beijing time (5:22pm IST), the Mars' gravity.

In May or June, the Tianwen-1 will attempt to land a capsule carrying a 240kg rover in a rapid seven-minute descent onto a massive plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars known as Utopia Planitia.

China Mars Probe Tianwen-1 Photographs Earth en Route to Red Planet

If the landing is successful, the solar-powered rover will explore the Martian surface for 90 days, studying its soil and seeking signs of ancient life, including any sub-surface water and ice using a ground-penetrating radar.

Tianwen-1, or "Questions to Heaven", the name of a Chinese poem written two millennia ago, is China's first independent mission to the planet after a probe co-launched with Russia failed to leave the Earth's orbit in 2011.

The probe is one of three reaching Mars this month. The successfully entered the planet's orbit on Tuesday. Hope will not make a landing but will orbit Mars gathering data on its weather and atmosphere.

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Tianwen-1 will also have an orbiter component surveying the Martian atmosphere with a range of instruments including a high-resolution image camera.

The two probes six other orbiting spacecraft above Mars launched by the National Aeronautics and Space istration (ESA) and India.

In the United States' most ambitious Mars mission, the 1 tonne Perseverance probe is expected to arrive on February 18. It will immediately attempt a landing in a rocky depression with precipitous cliffs called Jezero Crater.

On the surface, Perseverance will gather rock samples for retrieval by a future mission. Two other NASA rovers - InSight - are currently operating on the planet's surface.

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