– China’s first Mars probe, Tianyuan 1, is expected to enter Mars orbit next month. According to China’s Central Broadcasting Administration (CMG) and Xinhua News Agency, the China National Port and Heaven Bureau (CNSA) announced on the 3rd that the flight distance of the Tianyuan 1 was more than 400 million kilometers as of 6 am. CNSA added that the Tianwon 1 will enter Mars orbit with only 8.3 million kilometers in flight in the future.
– Tianyuan No. 1 is a symbol of China’s’space drill’. On July 23, last year, it was launched on the’Changjeong 5’rocket at the Wonchang space launch site in Hainan. CNSA explained that the Tianyuan 1 is flying toward Mars at a speed of 23 kilometers per second (2 million kilometers per day). If flying at the current speed, Tianyuan 1 will enter Mars orbit around the middle of next month. A CNSA official said, “Tianyuan 1 will slow down around February 10” and “afterwards, it will orbit Mars.” Chinese media predicted that Tianwon 1 would normally land on Mars in August, and that the rover would conduct a survey on the surface of Mars for 92 days (90 days in Mars time).
If Tianyuan 1 lands on Mars, it will become the third country in the world to successfully land on Mars after the United States and Russia.
– Meanwhile, the US’s fifth Mars probe,’Percivirance’, is expected to arrive at Mars orbit around the same time as Tianwon 1. Percivience was launched on July 30 last year, a week later than Tianyuan 1. Using nuclear batteries, it is possible to work on Mars for 14 years.
Source: CMG
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