BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese maiden space exploration mission to Mars has captured the first image of the red planet, the space agency said Friday, about six months after the probe left Earth.
The Tianwen-1 unearthed the image at a distance of about 2.2 million km (1.4 million miles) from Mars, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), which provided a black-and-white image.
The probe is now only half that distance away from Mars and about 184 million km from Earth after 197 days of the mission, the CNSA said in a statement, adding that its systems were in good condition. situation.
The Tianwen-1 was launched in July from the southern Chinese island of Hainan and was expected to reach Mars orbit this month. In May, he will attempt to land in Utopia Planitia, an area in the northern hemisphere, and use a rover for exploration for 90 days.
If successful, the Tianwen-1 will make China the first country to move, land and use a rover in its first mission to Mars, further boosting space missions China after last year being the first country to bring back samples from the 1970s moon.
China previously claimed Mars in 2011 with Russia, but the Russian spacecraft carrying the Earth’s orbit probe failed and crashed over the Minch.
Reciting with Ryan Woo; writing by Tom Daly; edited by Nick Macfie