China launches Mars mission
Posted: Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 1:05 PM ET (1705 GMT)
China successfully launched an ambitious Mars mission Thursday. A Long March 5 rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 12:41 am EDT (0441 GMT) carrying the Tianwen-1 spacecraft. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation confirmed a successful trans-Mars injection burn 40 minutes later. Tianwen-1 is due to arrive at Mars in February 2021, entering a highly elliptical orbit. The spacecraft will then move to a near-polar orbit with a periapsis of 265 kilometers for two to three months before attempting to land a rover on the surface in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars. The ambitious mission includes seven science payloads on the orbiter, such as a high-resolution camera comparable to HiRISE on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The rover, designed to last 90 Mars days, carries six instruments, including cameras, spectrometers and a ground-penetrating radar.
China successfully launched an ambitious Mars mission Thursday. A Long March 5 rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center at 12:41 am EDT (0441 GMT) carrying the Tianwen-1 spacecraft. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation confirmed a successful trans-Mars injection burn 40 minutes later. Tianwen-1 is due to arrive at Mars in February 2021, entering a highly elliptical orbit. The spacecraft will then move to a near-polar orbit with a periapsis of 265 kilometers for two to three months before attempting to land a rover on the surface in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars. The ambitious mission includes seven science payloads on the orbiter, such as a high-resolution camera comparable to HiRISE on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The rover, designed to last 90 Mars days, carries six instruments, including cameras, spectrometers and a ground-penetrating radar.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Vast signs contract with SpaceX for ISS private astronaut missions
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:59 AM ET (1659 GMT) Avio signs ESA contracts for Vega upgrades and Earth science satellite launch
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:57 AM ET (1657 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, December 26
Buy SpaceX Stock With Ease, But Beware The Risks
Forbes.com — 7:35 am ET (1235 GMT) ESA Enlists Portuguese Navy Submarine to Prepare for Deep Space
European Spaceflight — 7:22 am ET (1222 GMT) Has CNES Opened the Door for a European Space Station?
European Spaceflight — 7:21 am ET (1221 GMT) Scientists await signal from spacecraft after historic close encounter with the sun
NPR — 7:19 am ET (1219 GMT) Summer read: Cosmic Catastrophes
Cosmos Magazine — 7:18 am ET (1218 GMT) |
