BEIJING – The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) on Friday released a video showing how Mars probe Tianwen 1 braked to allow capture by the red planet’s gravity.
The Tianwen 1 probe in China, including an orbiter, lander and rover, successfully entered orbit around Mars on Wednesday after a nearly seven-month journey from Earth.
The full video recorded Mars gradually entering the field of view, a small shake of the probe after the engine was released, and the flight of the probe from Mars day to Mars night. The sun shield, directional antenna, Martian atmosphere, and surface morphology are seen in the video.
The CNSA reported that Tianwen 1 will be sending greetings from distant Mars at the time of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
According to the CNSA, the video was made from a quick replay of still images at a rate of 10 frames per second. The images were taken with solar-facing surveillance cameras and a directional antenna. The cameras captured images every three seconds for about 30 minutes.
Tianwen 1 has a monitoring system consisting of several small cameras with low energy consumption. The cameras, mounted on sunshades, directional antennas, and the lander-rover combination, can automatically take deep space selfies, as well as images of the use of antennas and sunscreens, and of main processes of movement, without control of the ground.
The CNSA said the cameras would continue to monitor and record Tianwen 1’s exploration of Mars.