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.
更新日期: 2021年5月15日
“日月安属？列星安陈？”
两千多年前，诗人屈原面对浩瀚苍穹写就一首《天问》。
两千多年后，中国首个火星探测器“天问一号”成功着陆火星，开启与火星的“约会”。
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.
2020年7月23日，搭载“天问一号”火星探测器的长征五号重型运载火箭于海南文昌航天发射场升空，迈出了中国自主开展行星探测的第一步。
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.
长征五号全长近57米，起飞重量约870吨，起飞推力超过1000吨，是目前中国运载能力最大的火箭。
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.
“天问一号”火星探测器由环绕器和着陆巡视器组成，其中着陆巡视器又包括着陆平台和火星车。在经历四次轨道修正后，探测器于今年2月10日顺利被火星引力捕获，正式进入环火轨道。
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.
在执行着陆任务前，环绕器与着陆巡视器分离，继续绕火星轨道进行为期一个火星年（地球约687天）的飞行，并在火星重点区域开展拍摄、环境监测等一系列任务。同时，它也继续为着陆巡视器提供信号中继服务。
These images were captured by cameras loaded on the orbiter.
这三张“火星图”由环绕器携带的相机在距离火星表面约330公里到350公里高度拍摄。
On May 15, 2021, Tianwen-1's lander-rover made the final descent.
北京时间2021年5月15日，“天问一号”成功着陆火星。
在整个任务执行过程中，着陆巡视器登陆火星表面是最让人期待也是难度最高的环节之一。
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.
从地球出发一路奔向火星的途中，探测器一直处于高速飞行状态，要想成功着陆，着陆巡视器要穿越火星稀薄的大气层，与火星的相对速度从每秒4.8公里降至零。
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.
尽管这个过程只有七八分钟，但因为电磁屏蔽的原因，整个过程全部都要靠探测器自主控制完成，因此也被称为“恐怖7分钟”。
After landing, the Zhurong rover will conduct scientific exploration for its expected lifespan of at least 90 Martian days (about three months on Earth).
后续，“祝融号”火星车将开展为期90个火星日（地球大约三个月）的科学探测任务。
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.
任务包括绘制火星形态和地质结构图、调查火星表面的土壤特征和水冰分布、分析火星表面的物质组成、测量电离层和火星地表气候及环境特征、探索火星的物理场（电磁场、引力场）和内部结构等。
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.
导航地形相机的工作原理类似人眼，可以通过捕获可见光来获取全景和三维图像，帮助火星车导航，并研究周围的地形。
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.
火星表面磁场探测仪将与环绕器上的磁场探测仪合作测量磁场。气象观测仪则负责测量温度、压力、风速和方向，监测火星表面的气象。
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.
多光谱相机负责探测火星表层元素、矿物质和岩石种类。火星表面成分探测仪会局部气化矿物质及岩石，使其产生等离子体，并测量释放出的原子发射光谱，准确获取物质元素的成分和含量。火星车次表层雷达则可深入地表10至100米，探索火星土壤结构并寻找水冰。这三个仪器将帮助科学家深入了解火星的表层成分构成。
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.
本着降低风险、提高科学探测价值的原则，“天问一号”火星探测任务的首选着陆点定在火星最大的平原——乌托邦平原南部。
Before the Tianwen-1 mission, humans had put more than a dozen spacecraft on Mars' soil.
此前，火星上已留下了十多个人类探测器的痕迹。
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.
1971年，前苏联向火星发射了“火星2号”和“火星3号”任务——前者在火星表面坠毁，后者在登陆火星20秒后，就跟地球失去了联系。
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.
1976年，美国“维京1号”着陆器在火星表面软着陆，成为第一个向地球发回照片的火星探测器；1997年登陆火星的“旅居者号”更是成为了人类第一个成功着陆运行的火星车。
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.
过去数十载，火星一直以来都是人类深空探测的热点，世界各国已经进行了40多次火星探测任务。但是在这40多次尝试中，仅有半数成功，深空探索的难度可想而知。
Human missions to Mars
人类火星探测史
Note: For missions with multiple objectives (for example, completing a Mars landing and orbiting in one mission), outcomes of corresponding modules are illustrated separately.
注: 如果一次火星探测活动包含多项任务（如一次发射计划同时完成环绕和飞越），则每个任务都在上图中单独标出。
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.
作为中国首次火星探测任务，“天问一号”计划一次性完成环绕火星飞行、在火星表面着陆以及在火星上进行巡视三步走的探测方案，这一壮举在全球尚属首次。
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.
探测器的成功着陆让中国成为世界上首次探索火星即完成软着陆任务的国家。
火星探测是中国行星探测的第一步，中国还将在2030年前后计划实施火星采样返回、小行星探测、木星系等探测方案，开展关键技术研究，推动实施深空探测工程。
China National Space Agency, NASA, Scientific objectives and payloads of Tianwen-1, China's first Mars exploration mission, Advances in Space Research
国家航天局、美国国家航空航天局、《中国首个火星探测任务“天文一号”的科学目标和有效载荷》（《空间研究进展》）
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