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China has put a Mars probe into orbit around the red planet. Tianwen-1 came in one on Wednesday afternoon orbit rightly so, making it the sixth country in the world to reach the planet.
Tianwen-1, which stands for ‘Heavenly questions’, started around 12.45 p.m. Dutch time with a fifteen-minute ignition of the engine to slow down. Now confirm Chinese media that Tianwen-1 has entered an elliptical orbit of between 400 and 18,000 kilometers. A round around the planet takes about ten days. During the mission, that orbit is slightly lowered to a maximum of 265 kilometers above the surface. Ultimately, the probe is intended to land a rover on the planet. This happens in May at the earliest.
The spacecraft has thirteen scientific instruments on board. This research is conducted into the composition of the soil of Mars, the topographic composition and the magnetic field. Among other things, the presence of water ice on and just below the surface is also sought.
China launched the vehicle in July of last year aboard a Long March 5 rocket. During the 202 day journey, Tianwen-1 made four course corrections. It’s been a busy week for the red planet; Dutch time also arrived on Tuesday evening a satellite of the United Arab Emirates near Mars. However, that satellite flies much higher, in an orbit of at least 22,000 kilometers from the planet.
Next week, the American mission Perseverance will also arrive at Mars. NASA wants to drop a rover on February 18. Tweakers previously wrote a background article about the American rover’s improved cameras and equipment.
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