Updated May 15, 2021
On May 15, 2021, China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 successfully landed its lander and rover on the red planet, in one of the most ambitious space exploration projects in human history.
Updated May 15, 2021
On May 15, 2021, China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 successfully landed its lander and rover on the red planet, in one of the most ambitious space exploration projects in human history.
The Tianwen-1 Mars probe was launched into space aboard China's largest heavy-lift carrier rocket Long March-5 on July 23, 2020 from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan Province, southern China.
The rocket was about 57 meters long, had a takeoff weight of about 870 tonnes and a thrust of over 1,000 tonnes. It was much larger than China's previous carrier rockets.
The probe, a three-in-one spacecraft, comprised an orbiter, a lander and a rover.
On the way to Mars, the probe conducted four trajectory correction maneuvers and was successfully captured by Mars' gravity after cruising for seven months.
Before landing on Mars, the orbiter was separated from the lander-rover combination, continuing to travel on its current orbit to study Mars for about one Martian year (about 687 days on Earth).
Meanwhile, it is serving as a relay back to Earth for communications with the rover.
These images were captured by cameras loaded on the orbiter.
On May 15, 2021, Tianwen-1's lander-rover made the final descent.
There was a 20-minute signal transmission delay during the landing stage. Rather than relying on a command center on Earth, the probe performed all maneuvers on its own.
It reduced its speed from 4.8 km/s to 0 within 7 to 8 minutes, in what was among the most challenging parts of the mission.
After landing, the Zhurong rover will conduct scientific exploration for its expected lifespan of at least 90 Martian days (about three months on Earth).
It will study Mars' geological structure, soil characteristics and distribution of surface water ice, surface material composition, surface climate and environment, as well as its physical field and internal structure.
Navigation and terrain cameras are the "eyes" of the rover. Just like human eyes, the two cameras are symmetrically arranged, capturing visible light to gather panoramic and three-dimensional imagery. They will help the rover to navigate and study the topography of the roving area.
A magnetometer probe works together with another magnetometer aboard the orbiter to measure the magnetic field.
Unlike Earth's global magnetic field surrounding the entire planet, Mars only has patches of magnetic field left allowing solar wind to strip the atmosphere and dry out the planet. The climate station measures the temperature, pressure, wind speed and direction to monitor Martian surface meteorology.
These three scientific payloads will work to discover the composition of the red planet.
The multispectral camera surveys elements, minerals and rock types.
The Mars surface composition detector looks for hydrated minerals by vaporizing rocks and analyzing their composition.
The ground-penetrating radar digs deeper into the surface, 10 to 100 meters down into the ground, to survey the soil structure and search for water ice.
China has chosen a relatively flat region in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a large plain, as a potential landing zone. It is believed to be a comparatively safe place for a landing attempt but also of great scientific interest.
Before the Tianwen-1 mission, humans had put more than a dozen spacecraft on Mars' soil.
The Soviet Union made its first two attempts in 1971 – Mars 2 crash-landed on the planet and Mars 3 ceased transmissions 20 seconds after landing.
In 1976, NASA's Viking 1 conducted the first successful landing, with photos sent back to Earth. The U.S. agency's Sojourner (landed 1997) became the first rover to operate on another planet.
For the past decades, Mars has been one of the most sought-after destinations in humans' space adventures. But about half of the attempts have failed. As a result, Mars has been dubbed a "graveyard" for spacecraft.
Human missions to Mars
Note: For missions with multiple objectives (for example, completing a Mars landing and orbiting in one mission), outcomes of corresponding modules are illustrated separately.
In one of the most ambitious space explorations ever, China's Tianwen-1 is designed to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one go. With the historic landing, China has become the first nation to successfully land a spacecraft on Mars on its maiden attempt.
While conducting its first big interplanetary mission, China has made even bolder plans for the future, including a Mars sample return mission and a visit to Jupiter in the 2030s.
China National Space Agency, NASA, Scientific objectives and payloads of Tianwen-1, China's first Mars exploration mission, Advances in Space Research
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