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Mars Tianwen-1 Mission, launched to the Red Planet last July aims to land “The Explorer” on the surface of Mars in April 2021. Tianwen-1 Testing artificial Mars terrain at a test site at the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) in Beijing, China.
The test soil was renovated from a site originally used to simulate the lunar surface for China’s lunar explorers, Yutu 1 and Yutu 2. The renovated test soil was equipped with sand and rock to mimic the various terrains on the Martian surface.
As explained in the CCTV-Plus video, staff members use silicon carbide on Earth and wash it with water to ensure it is clean enough to not contaminate the rover before leaving for Mars.
“On this site, we mainly test all working modes (rover). We tested the normal working mode as well as the crash mode to see how to get out of the way when a crash occurs. In fact, our test site serves as an inspection room for the previous launch mission, “said Jia Yong, an expert from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), in a video interview.
China’s Mars rover is very similar to the country’s lunar explorers, but bigger in size. “We have to increase explorer autonomy. In addition, the environmental conditions on the surface of Mars may be more complex than that of the moon. The result that we can see directly through the eye is that the rover moves sideways, like a crab, a feat the lunar explorers cannot afford,” said Teng Baoyi , Deputy Chief Designer of CASC in the CCTV-Plus interview.
Difficult Mission
In an interview related to CCTV, Liu Tongjie, Deputy Director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center under China’s National Space Administration, said. The Tianwen-1 mission – consisting of an orbiter, lander and rover – is a very difficult mission.
–The spacecraft is expected to enter Mars orbit around February 2021. After that, it will take two to three months to survey potential landing sites using high-resolution cameras to prepare for a landing in May.
When the probe arrives in February next year, it will not allow it to land on the surface of Mars immediately. “First, we’ll let him do some preliminary exploration (from orbit), do some experimental and exploratory operations. Then we’ll find a better window to make landfall,” Liu said.
From what has been learned so far, he continued, the southern hemisphere of Mars is mountainous. While more plains are visible in the northern hemisphere of Mars. “So we chose to make a landing in the southern hemisphere of Mars. Currently we have chosen the Utopia Planitia,” said Liu.
After landing, rover will be released for scientific exploration with an estimated age of at least 90 Mars days (about three months on Earth). Then orbiting with a design life of one Martian year – about 687 Earth days -, will convey communications to explorers while carrying out its own scientific tasks.
(iqb)
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