+ A
A -
dpa
Beijing
China’s Tianwen-1 spacecraft has successfully entered the orbit of Mars, according to state broadcaster CCTV, making it the second of three missions arriving at the red planet this month.
The 5-ton spacecraft, whose name translates as “Heavenly Questions,” consists of an orbiter, a lander and a vehicle the size of a golf cart that aims to explore the Martian environment and search for hints of life on Earth’s neighbour.
Several countries have their sights set on Mars.
The United Arab Emirates’ Hope space probe entered Mars’ orbit on Tuesday, making the UAE the first in the Arab world to launch a successful interplanetary mission and only the fifth nation to achieve the feat. It will study the planet’s atmosphere. On February 18, NASA’s latest Mars rover Perseverance is to descend through the Martian atmosphere to study the planet’s surface. The rover is also carrying a helicopter drone named Ingenuity, which could become the first craft to fly on another planet.
China’s Tianwen-1 is expected to orbit Mars for another two or three months before it attempts its risky landing.
While the orbiter will remain “parked” in Mars’ orbit, relaying information to Earth, the lander will plunge into the atmosphere at 48,000 metres per second amid temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius.
If successful, China could become the second country to land and operate a rover on Mars after the United States.
With its first Mars landing, the new space power wants to catch up with the US, which has already sent several research devices to roam the planet.
Beijing has steadily expanded its space programme over the past few years and has missions planned for decades into the future.
In 2019, China became the first country to land an object on the far side of the moon.
The country’s space exploration plans include building a space station and sending a mission to Jupiter by 2029.
China, the UAE and the US all launched their Mars mission around the same time last July. The reason was that Earth and Mars align more closely every 26 months, providing a window of opportunity for more fuel-efficient journeys - and, inadvertently, for an international showdown in space.
Beijing
China’s Tianwen-1 spacecraft has successfully entered the orbit of Mars, according to state broadcaster CCTV, making it the second of three missions arriving at the red planet this month.
The 5-ton spacecraft, whose name translates as “Heavenly Questions,” consists of an orbiter, a lander and a vehicle the size of a golf cart that aims to explore the Martian environment and search for hints of life on Earth’s neighbour.
Several countries have their sights set on Mars.
The United Arab Emirates’ Hope space probe entered Mars’ orbit on Tuesday, making the UAE the first in the Arab world to launch a successful interplanetary mission and only the fifth nation to achieve the feat. It will study the planet’s atmosphere. On February 18, NASA’s latest Mars rover Perseverance is to descend through the Martian atmosphere to study the planet’s surface. The rover is also carrying a helicopter drone named Ingenuity, which could become the first craft to fly on another planet.
China’s Tianwen-1 is expected to orbit Mars for another two or three months before it attempts its risky landing.
While the orbiter will remain “parked” in Mars’ orbit, relaying information to Earth, the lander will plunge into the atmosphere at 48,000 metres per second amid temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius.
If successful, China could become the second country to land and operate a rover on Mars after the United States.
With its first Mars landing, the new space power wants to catch up with the US, which has already sent several research devices to roam the planet.
Beijing has steadily expanded its space programme over the past few years and has missions planned for decades into the future.
In 2019, China became the first country to land an object on the far side of the moon.
The country’s space exploration plans include building a space station and sending a mission to Jupiter by 2029.
China, the UAE and the US all launched their Mars mission around the same time last July. The reason was that Earth and Mars align more closely every 26 months, providing a window of opportunity for more fuel-efficient journeys - and, inadvertently, for an international showdown in space.
