China successfully launches
first Mars mission
July 23
China launched a Mars probe on
Thursday, aiming to complete orbiting, landing and
roving in one mission, and taking the first step in its
planetary exploration of the solar system.
A Long March-5 rocket, China's
largest launch vehicle, carrying the spacecraft with a
mass of about 5 tonnes, soared into the sky from the
Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of southern
China's island province of Hainan at 12:41 p.m. (Beijing
Time).
About 36 minutes later, the
spacecraft, including an orbiter and a rover, was sent
into the Earth-Mars transfer orbit, embarking on an
almost seven-month journey to the red planet, according
to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
China's first Mars mission is named
Tianwen-1, which means Questions to Heaven and comes
from a poem written by Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC), one
of the greatest poets of ancient China. The name
signifies the Chinese nation's perseverance in pursuing
truth and science and exploring nature and the universe,
said the CNSA.
"The successful launch is only the
first step of China's Mars mission, and we hope each of
the many key steps of the long journey is completed
successfully," said Geng Yan, an official at the Lunar
Exploration and Space Program Center of the CNSA.
The key steps include slowing down
close to Mars, orbiting, separating the landing platform
and the rover from the orbiter, landing softly and
roving.
The craft is expected to reach Mars
around February 2021. After it enters Mars orbit, it
will spend two to three months surveying potential
landing sites using a high-resolution camera to prepare
for the landing in May.
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