China's Tianwen - 1 Mission to Mars

Last Saturday, China scripted history as it successfully landed its Zhurong Rover on Mars, not only making it its first landing on another planet but also becoming the third nation - after the USA and Russia, to complete a soft landing on Mars. It is also important to note that only NASA has been able to land and operate rovers on Mars, whereas the former Soviet Union's spacecraft landed on the planet in 1971 and communicated for 20 seconds, before losing contact. China has also become the first nation to successfully orbit, land, and deploy a land vehicle on its inaugural mission to Mars.

The lander, with the Zhurong Rover attached, touched down in Utopia Planitia in the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet. This vast plain region is thought to have previously been an ancient ocean. This rover is a part of the Tianwen - 1 mission launched by the CNSA - China National Space Administration.

Following this, The China National Space Administration on Wednesday published the images taken by cameras attached to the rover, which displayed its obstacle avoidance equipment and solar panels, and also the texture of the surface of Mars.

What is the Tianwen - 1 mission?

In January 2016, the Chinese government approved its first independent Mars exploration mission. In April 2020, this mission was named Tianwen - 1 - The word "Tianwen" literally meaning "questions to heaven." The main objectives of this mission included mapping the morphology and geological structure of Mars, investigating the water-ice distribution and soil characteristics, etc. The Tianwen - 1 mission consists of an orbiter, rover, and a lander.

On July 23rd, 2020, the Long March 5B, China's largest carrier rocket, carrying the Tianwen - 1 probe with the Zhurong Rover was launched from the Southern province of Hainan in China. In February 2021, the probe went into orbit around Mars, making it the first Chinese satellite to achieve this feat. In the next three months, it circled the red planet, culminating in the landing on May 15th, 2021.

Post the landing, the Zhurong Rover is now expected to roam the planet for three months, sending back data and images to the space agency. According to the official China Space News, Zhurong will move and stop in slow intervals, with each interval estimated to be just 10 meters over three days, The Tianwen - 1 probe will remain in orbit and act as a relay satellite, sending signals to and from Earth. Once the task of the rover comes to an end, the orbiter will spend two more years in different space exploration tasks.

More about the Zhurong Rover -

The Zhurong Rover - named after the God of Fire in ancient Chinese mythology, is about 1.85 meters tall and weighs about 240 kilograms. It has six wheels and four solar panels, according to CNSA, and carries a multispectral camera, a ground-penetrating radar, and a meteorological sensor. It has an operational life of 90 sols. It will now look for signs of ancient life on Mars and investigate its soil and atmosphere. In this phase of the mission, it would have to overcome many difficulties such as extreme weather and disturbance in sunlight reception.

China's strides in space -

With this successful landing and deployment, China has demonstrated significant progress in its space agenda, and the Zhurong Rover may be a predecessor to some other major missions. By 2030, China hopes to send a sample - return mission to Mars, which would allow it to bring back Martian Rocks to Earth for further study. This is similar to NASA's recent plan to do so and may initiate a race to successfully completing this type of mission. Last month, China also launched into orbit the first part of a permanent space station, and in the future has plans to send astronauts on the Moon. With this, it has taken a step forward towards becoming one of the most formidable space powers in the world, and it may just add to the tensions with other nations.

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