China’s first successful interplanetary mission has completed the mapping of the red planet more than a year after its arrival.
He Tianwen 1 Orbiter used its medium resolution camera to image the surface Mart; the spacecraft also completed the scientific objectives assigned to the other six scientific payloads on board. This milestone means that both the orbiter and the Zhurong rover, which accompanied Tianwen 1 on the trip to Mars, have now completed their planned scientific exploration tasks. seconds to the National Space Administration of China (CNSA).
The agency also released new images showing a number of features of the surface of Mars captured by Tianwen 1.
Related: The mission to Mars Tianwen-1 from China in the photos
Tianwen 1 arrived on Mars in February 2021 and has completed 1,344 orbits on June 29, the CNSA noted. The spacecraft initially began visualizing portions of the surface in Utopia Planitia, a preselected area for the Zhurong rover landing. This work helped make a successful landing in May of that year.
Once the rover was on the surface, the orbiter mainly provided communications relay support for Zhurong until November, when the spacecraft alter its orbit start your own scientific program, including the study of the planet.
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A dune photographed by the Zhurong rover before hibernating in May 2022. (Image credit: CNSA / PEC)
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A crater edge captured by the Tianwen 1’s high-resolution camera. (Image credit: CNSA / PEC)Image 1 of 6
Ascraeus Mons and its central crater captured by Tianwen 1 medium-resolution camera. (Image credit: CNSA / PEC)Image 1 of 6
View of the ice sheet over the South Pole of Mars from Tianwen Medium Resolution Camera 1. (Image Credit: CNSA / PEC)Image 1 of 6
A section of the canyon system that forms Valles Marineris captured by the Tianwen 1 medium resolution camera. (Image credit: CNSA / PEC)Image 1 of 6
Scattered craters in Arabia Earth captured by Tianwen Medium Resolution Camera 1. (Image credit: CNSA / PEC)Image 1 of 6
The couple will continue their work despite completing the main goals, CNSA officials wrote. The Tianwen 1 will be used later this year for an air braking test, using the friction of the Martian atmosphere to slow down the spacecraft, in preparation for the Tianwen 3, a complex. Mission to return the Mars sample it is expected to be launched in 2028. (Tianwen 2 will overlook the Red Planet, instead of taking a sample of an asteroid close to Earth and studying a second space rock; The mission is currently aimed at launching in 2025.)
Zhurong, which has traveled 6,304 feet (1,921.5 meters) on Mars, is currently hibernating due to winter in the northern hemisphere of Mars. The rover is expected to resume activity later this year with the onset of local spring when its sensors detect higher levels of sunlight coming into the vehicle.
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