China's spacecraft 'Tianwen-1' entered Mars orbit on February 10, 2021, becoming the world's second one in two days after the United Arab Emirates.
Chinese media reported that China’s Tianwen-1 successfully entered the orbit around Mars after a nearly seven-month voyage from Earth.
The Chinese mission to Mars comprises an orbiter and a rover, which it plans to land on the Red Planet to collect data on underground water and possible signs of ancient life.
Significance
China's Mars probe became the second spacecraft in two days to reach the red planet, following UAE's Hope space probe that entered Mars orbit on February 9, 2021.
Key Highlights
•The Chinese mission to Mars is its most ambitious one yet. If the mission goes as planned, the rover would separate from the spacecraft in a few months and attempt to touch down.
•If all goes as planned, China would become the second nation in the world to land on Mars successfully after the United States.
•The Chinese spacecraft is named Tianwen, which is the title of an ancient poem and it means “Quest for Heavenly Truth.”
China's space programme
•China's space programme has progressed considerably since the past couple of years as it attempts to join the space race.
•China's Chang’e 5 mission in December 2020 was the first to bring lunar rocks to Earth since the 1970s
•China was also the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon in 2019.
•India had attempted to land on the far side of the Moon in the same year with its Chandrayaan-2 mission but failed after it lost contact with its lander just minutes before the scheduled landing.
Why is Mars landing tricky? |
| •Landing on Mars has been tricky so far. The United States is the only nation that has managed to successfully touch down on Mars. •The US has managed to land missions on Mars eight times beginning with the two Viking missions. The nation currently has a lander and rover are in operation on the Martian surface. •China's attempt to land on Mars will involve a parachute, back-firing rockets and airbags. •The proposed landing site for the Chinese mission is inside the massive, rock-strewn, Utopia Planitia, where the US Viking 2 lander touched down in 1976. •Chinese rover, which will be solar-powered, is expected to operate for about three months and the orbiter for two years. The rover will be about the size of a golf cart. •Tianwen-1 is China’s second attempt to send a spacecraft to the Red Planet. China in collaboration with Russia had attempted to send an orbiter to Mars in 2011 but the mission had failed and didn’t make it out of Earth orbit. •Many missions couldn't make it to Mars including a Russian mission, a European Spacecraft and a failed US lander. |
Background
•In total, three Mars missions had taken flight in July 2020 within days of each other, taking advantage of the planet’s close alignment with Earth that occurs only once in every two years.
•The missions belong to the United States, United Arab Emirates and China. While UAE and China's missions have already entered the Mars orbit, the US probe will enter soon.
•The United States will attempt to land its Perseverance rover on the Martian surface around February 18, 2021. The mission also aims to search for signs of ancient microscopic life and to collect Martian rocks and bring them back to Earth.
•Six orbiters are currently operating around Mars, including three of the US, two European and one Indian -Mangalyaan.
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