Chinese probe successfully maps entire Mars, sends stunning pictures

[xizhimen]

Chinese probe successfully maps entire Mars, sends stunning pictures​

China's Tianwen-1 orbiter has mapped the entire of Mars, including the planet's South Pole. The spacecraft conducted 1300 revolutions of the Red Planet to image entire planet.​

India Today Web Desk
New Delhi
June 29, 2022

An image of Mars taken by China's Tianwen-1 unmanned probe is seen in this handout image released by China National Space Administration (CNSA). (Photo: CNSA)

After reaching Martian orbit, China's Tianwen-1 mission reached a major milestone and successfully mapped the entire planet. The spacecraft has captured images ranging from Mars' poles to the surface features, canyons, and craters after circling the planet over 1,300 times in a space of just over a year.

The spacecraft was successfully inserted into an orbit around Mars in February 2021 in China's maiden attempt at an interplanetary mission. Chinese scientists not only succeeded in entering Martian orbit in the first attempt, but also landed a rover on the Red Planet and moved around.

Among the images taken from space were China's first photographs of the Martian south pole, where almost all of the planet's water resources are locked. In 2018, an orbiting probe operated by the European Space Agency discovered water under the ice of the planet's south pole.

An image of Mars taken by China's Tianwen-1 unmanned probe shows cratered surface. (Photo: CNSA)

Other Tianwen-1 images include photographs of the 4,000-kilometre (2,485-mile) long canyon Valles Marineris, and impact craters of highlands in the north of Mars known as Arabia Terra. According to details released by the Chinese space agency, the orbiter has also beamed back high-resolution imagery of the edge of the vast Maunder crater, as well as a top-down view of the 18,000-metre (59,055-foot) Ascraeus Mons, a large shield volcano first detected by NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft more than five decades ago.

The orbiter has been circling the planet thrice every Martian day or Sol while relaying communication between Earth and the Zhurong rover on the ground. Chinese engineers had in November 2021 revved up the speed of the orbiter by 78 meters per second shifting the orbit time around the planet to begin the mapping campaign.

Before the change of orbit, the orbiter was mainly responsible for the relay communication function of the Zhurong rover. The remote sensing mission will help China develop a comprehensive topographic model of the Red Planet as the search for life continues on the surface.

An image of Mars taken by China's Tianwen-1 unmanned probe. (Photo: CNSA)

While the orbiter is flying above the planet, the Zhurong rover is in the large plain area within the largest known impact basin in the solar system. The 240-kilogram robot is the core component of the Tianwen-1 mission. It is the sixth rover to move on the Martian surface after five from the United States.

Chinese probe successfully maps entire Mars, sends stunning pictures

China's Tianwen-1 orbiter has mapped the entire of Mars, including the planet's South Pole. The spacecraft conducted 1300 revolutions of the Red Planet to image entire planet.

www.indiatoday.in

 

[xizhimen]

Chinese spacecraft acquires images of entire planet of Mars​

Reuters
June 29, 2022

BEIJING, June 29 (Reuters) - An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft has acquired imagery data covering all of Mars, including visuals of its south pole, after circling the planet more than 1,300 times since early last year, state media reported on Wednesday.

China's Tianwen-1 successfully reached the Red Planet in February 2021 on the country's inaugural mission there. A robotic rover has since been deployed on the surface as an orbiter surveyed the planet from space.

Among the images taken from space were China's first photographs of the Martian south pole, where almost all of the planet's water resources are locked.

In 2018, an orbiting probe operated by the European Space Agency had discovered water under the ice of the planet's south pole.

Locating subsurface water is key to determining the planet's potential for life, as well as providing a permanent resource for any human exploration there.

Other Tianwen-1 images include photographs of the 4,000-kilometre (2,485-mile) long canyon Valles Marineris, and impact craters of highlands in the north of Mars known as Arabia Terra.

Tianwen-1 also sent back high-resolution imagery of the edge of the vast Maunder crater, as well as a top-down view of the 18,000-metre (59,055-foot) Ascraeus Mons, a large shield volcano first detected by NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft more than five decades ago.

Chinese spacecraft acquires images of entire planet of Mars

An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft has acquired imagery data covering all of Mars, including visuals of its south pole, after circling the planet more than 1,300 times since early last year, state media reported on Wednesday.

www.reuters.com

 

[xizhimen]

All of Mars captured by Chinese spacecraft​

 

[xizhimen]

China's Mars probe has photographed the entire red planet​

CNN
Updated 2:12 AM ET, Thu June 30, 2022

An image of a mountain on Mars taken by China's Tianwen-1 probe.

(CNN)After more than a year on the surface of Mars, China's Tianwen-1 probe has taken images covering the entire red planet, the country's space agency announced Wednesday.

Tianwen-1, which means "quest for heavenly truth," was launched in 2020 and landed on Mars last May, when the Zhurong rover on board started its mission of patrolling and exploring the planet while the orbiter spun overhead.

In a statement, China's National Space Agency (CNSA) said the probe has now completed all its assigned tasks, including taking medium-resolution images covering the entire planet.

An image of dunes on Mars, taken by the Zhurong rover of the Tianwen-1 probe shortly before it entered dormancy in May 2022.

The images, posted by the space agency on social media, show the Martian landscape's rugged terrain: dusty red dunes, shield volcanoes, impact craters, the south pole ice sheet, and the cliffs and ridges of the Valles Marineris canyons -- one of the largest canyons in our solar system.


The images were taken by the probe's orbiter, which circled Mars 1,344 times, capturing images of the planet from every angle, while the rover explored the surface, CNSA said.

A high-resolution image showing the edge of a crater on Mars, and the beginning of the pit.

The six-wheeled rover carried scientific instruments on its journey, gathering information about Mars' geological structure, atmosphere, environment and soil. The probe has collected 1,040 gigabytes of raw scientific data, which has been processed by scientists on Earth and handed to research teams for further study, the agency said.

CNSA said it had shared the orbiter's flight information with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), and the scientific data will be available to international scientists "at an appropriate time."

With temperatures dropping during the Martian winter, as well as poor sand and dust conditions, the rover entered a dormant mode on May 18 that will last through the harsh season before its expected awakening in December -- when the landing area will enter early spring, bringing better weather.

The orbiter will continue conducting tests and preparing for future tasks, the space agency said.

Prior to China's success with Tianwen-1, only the United States and the former Soviet Union had landed a spacecraft on the surface of Mars -- but India, the ESA, and the United Arab Emirates have sent spacecraft to enter the planet's orbit.

With Tianwen-1, China was the first nation to attempt sending both an orbiter and a rover on its first homegrown Mars mission. NASA, for instance, sent multiple orbiters to Mars before ever attempting a landing.

China's Mars probe has photographed the entire red planet | CNN

After more than a year on the surface of Mars, China’s Tianwen-1 probe has taken images covering the entire red planet, the country’s space agency announced Wednesday.

www.cnn.com

 

[Jagdflieger]

Since China is likely to be the first nation to send a manned mission to Mars - has any real-estate been claimed by anyone yet?