Related MediaFeb 11, 2021 15:01:19 IST
A Chinese spacecraft went into orbit around Mars Wednesday on a mission to orbit and scout for signs of ancient life, authorities announced in a special step in the country’s most advanced deep space mission yet. The arrival of Tianwen-1 after a seven-month journey and nearly 300 million miles (475 million kilometers) is part of an explosion of activity in Mars: A spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates went into orbit around the red planet Tuesday, and the U.S. rover arrives next week. The Chinese space agency said the five-ton orbiter and rover fired its engine to reduce its speed, allowing it to be captured by Mars gravity.
“Going into orbit has been successful … making it the first Mars artificial satellite in our country,” the group said.
The bold mission is even for a space program that has achieved a steady stream of achievement and brought fame to China’s ruling Communist Party.
If all goes as planned, the rover will detach from the spacecraft in a few months and will land safely on Mars, making China the second country for such a ploy. remove. The rover, a solar-powered vehicle about the size of a golf cart, will collect data on groundwater and look for evidence that the planet may have once damaged microscopic life.
Tianwen, the title of an old poem, means “Quest for Heavenly Truth. ”
Picture of the Tianwen-1 spacecraft orbiter and rover next to the landing model. Image: CNSA
It is very difficult to land a spaceship on Mars. A Russian and European spacecraft breaks the landscape alongside a failed U.S. lawyer. About a dozen orbiters lost the signal. In 2011, a Chinese orbiter attached to Mars that was part of a Russian mission did not make it out of Earth orbit.
Only the US has successfully landed on Mars – eight times, starting with two Viking missions in the 1970s. An American landlord and rover is at work today.
China’s effort includes parachute, rocket firing and airbags. The landing site is a large rocky area called Utopia Planitia, where the U.S. Viking lands 2 fell in 1976.
Prior to the arrival of the Chinese spacecraft this week and the UAE orbiter, six other spacecraft were already operating around Mars: three US, two European and one Indian.
The three of the latest messages were launched in July to take advantage of the close connection between Earth and Mars that only happens once every two years.
A NASA rover called Perseverance aims to land on February 18th. It also looks for signs of microscopic ancient life, collecting rocks that will be returned to Earth in about a decade.
A secret space program, linked to the Chinese military has achieved a series of accomplishments. In December, it brought moon rocks back to Earth for the first time since the 1970s. China was also the first country to land a spacecraft on the other side of the moon in 2019.
China is also building a permanent space station and planning a crew-based lunar mission and a possible permanent research center on the moon, although dates have not yet been proposed.
While Congress is blocking most ties with NASA and China is not participating in the International Space Station, it has increasingly cooperated with the Space Agency of China. Europe and countries such as Argentina, France and Austria. Early on, China cooperated with the Soviet Union and then Russia.