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

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

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

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

Photo Credit: China National Space Administration

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

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 China National Space Administration said in a statement, slowing the spacecraft to a speed at which it could be captured by the pull of 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.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

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 Hope spacecraft launched by the United Arab Emirates 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.

China Prepares for Return of Chang’e 5 Probe With Moon Samples

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 join six other orbiting spacecraft above Mars launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (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 - Curiosity and InSight - are currently operating on the planet's surface.

© Thomson Reuters 2021

Can Realme X7 Pro take on OnePlus Nord? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.