The Chinese Tianwen-1 spacecraft returned its first snapshot of Mars.
CNSA
It’s a busy month on Mars. Three spacecraft missions join the red planet. China Tianwen-1 is one of them, and it already has an eye on its new home in the solar system. The Chinese National Space Agency announced Tianwen-1’s first view of Mars on Friday.
CNSA described the image in a statement as “the first snapshot of the Chinese craft” and said it was captured about 2.2 million kilometers away. The sharp black-and-white photo shows Mars against the dark background of space.
CNSA formerly a “selfie” of the spacecraft released in September 2020, Tianwen-1 points to its long flight.
The Chinese spacecraft corrected its orbit to bring it neatly into orbit on February 10th. The mission consists of an orbit, a lander and a rover. It will take some time to travel through Mars before attempting the disturbing part of the mission.
The connection to Tianwen-1 will be in a lane NASA’s perseverance mission and the United Arab Emirates’ Hope Sin. For everyone, it’s a big deal to reach an orbit, although NASA will put the focus on February 18 when it tries to land the Perseverance Rover on the surface.
Tianwen-1’s snapshot of Mars is not only dramatic for its view of the red planet, but also for the hopes and goals it represents.
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