Chinese Spacecraft lands on the surface of Mars on Saturday. The uncrewed Chinese spacecraft made China the 2nd space-faring nation after the United States to land on the Red Planet.
Chinese Tianwen-1 spacecraft landed on a position on a vast plain called Utopia Planitia, “leaving a Chinese footprint on Mars for the first time,” said Xinhua.
Xi Jinping, The Chinese President gave a message of congratulations to all the people associated with the mission.
“You were brave enough for the challenge, pursued excellence, and placed our country in the advanced ranks of planetary exploration,” Xi Jinping said. “Your outstanding achievement will forever be etched in the memories of the motherland and the people,” he added.
The Spacecraft left its parked orbit at about 1700 GMT Friday (0100 Beijing time Saturday). The landing module secluded from the orbiter 3 hours later and joined the Martian atmosphere, the official China Space News said.
It is known that the landing process included “nine minutes of terror” as the module decelerates and then slowly descends.
The official landing time was 2318 GMT (0718 Beijing time), Xinhua reported, citing the China National Space Administration. The rover spent more than 17 minutes unfolding its solar panels, antenna and send signals to ground controllers more than 320 million kilometers away.
The rover, named Zhurong, will now examine the landing site before leaving from its platform to conduct inspections. The spacecraft is named after a mythical Chinese god of fire, Zhurong. It has six scientific instruments consisting of a high-resolution topography camera.
The Chinese spacecraft will study the planet’s surface soil and atmosphere. Zhurong will also watch for signs of ancient life, including any sub-surface water and ice. It will be using ground-penetrating radar to do so.
It is a five-tonne spacecraft that blasted off from the southern Chinese island of Hainan in July last year. The spacecraft was launched by the powerful Long March 5 rocket.
If the Chinese spacecraft is successfully deployed, the Chinese nation would become the first country to orbit, land, and release a rover in its maiden mission to Mars.
