A Long March-5 Y4 carrier rocket liftes off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, July 23, 2020. (Photo: People's Daily)
Wenchang (People’s Daily) - China successfully sent its first Mars mission probe by Long March-5 Y4 rocket into the scheduled orbit from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the northeast coast of Hainan Island on Thursday, China’s National Space Administration told People’s Daily.
The probe of Tianwen-1, the name of China’s Mars mission, will fly in the Earth-Mars transfer orbit for about seven months before reaching Mars. After being captured by Mars, it will enter an orbit around Mars, and choose the opportunity to carry out missions such as landing and patrol for scientific exploration.
The scientific objectives of the first Mars exploration mission are mainly to study the morphology and geological structure of Mars, soil characteristics and water ice distribution on its surface, the composition of the surface material, the ionosphere of Mars’ atmosphere and surface climate and environmental characteristics, physical field and internal structure.
The Mars exploration mission was established in January 2016. Many research institutions across the country, including universities in Hong Kong and Macao, actively participated in the development process. China has also conducted a number of cooperation projects with the European Space Agency, France, Austria, Argentina and other countries and organizations.
Video: People's Daily