Tianwen-1
-1 ( zh , s = 天问一号) (also referred to as TW-1) is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lander, remote camera, and the ' rover. The spacecraft, with a total mass of nearly five tons, is one of the heaviest probes launched to Mars and carries 14 scientific instruments. It is the first in a series of planned missions undertaken by CNSA as part of its Planetary Exploration of China program. The mission's scientific objectives include: investigation of Martian surface geology and internal structure, search for indications of current and past presence of water, and characterization of the space environment and the atmosphere of Mars. The mission was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on 23 July 2020 on a Long March 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle. After seven months of transit through the inner Solar System, the spac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zhurong (rover)
( zh, c=祝融, p=Zhùróng, l=) is a Chinese rover on Mars, the country's first to land on another planet after it previously landed two rovers on the Moon. The rover is part of the '' Tianwen-1'' mission to Mars conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The spacecraft was launched on 23 July 2020 and inserted into Martian orbit on 10 February 2021. The lander, carrying the rover, performed a soft landing on Mars on 14 May 2021, making China the third country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on Mars and the second one to deploy a rover on Mars, after the United States. ''Zhurong'' was deployed on 22 May 2021, 02:40 UTC. Designed for a lifespan of 90 sols (93 Earth days), ''Zhurong'' was active for more than 347 sols (358 days) after its deployment on Mars's surface. The rover became inactive on 20 May 2022 due to approaching sandstorms and Martian winter. With appropriate temperature and sunlight conditions, ''Zhurong'' was expected to wake up i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Planetary Exploration Of China
The Planetary Exploration of China (PEC; ), also known as Tianwen (), is the Robotic spacecraft, robotic interplanetary spaceflight program conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program aims to explore planets of the Solar System, starting from Mars, and will be expanded to Jupiter and more in the future. The program was initially known as the Mars mission of China at the early stage. It was later announced as Planetary Exploration of China in April 2020. The series of missions was named ''Tianwen''. The first mission of the program, Tianwen-1 Mars exploration mission, began on July 23, 2020. A spacecraft, which consisted of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, was launched by a Long March 5 rocket from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, Wenchang. The Tianwen-1 was inserted into orbit of Mars, Mars orbit in February 2021 after a seven-month journey, followed by a successful soft landing (aeronautics), soft landing of the lander and Zhurong (rover), ''Zhuron ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mars Launch Window
The planet Mars has been explored remotely by spacecraft. Probes sent from Earth, beginning in the late 20th century, have yielded a large increase in knowledge about the Martian system, focused primarily on understanding its geology and habitability potential. Engineering interplanetary journeys is complicated and the exploration of Mars has experienced a high failure rate, especially the early attempts. Roughly sixty percent of all spacecraft destined for Mars failed before completing their missions, with some failing before their observations could begin. Some missions have been met with unexpected success, such as the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, '' Spirit'' and ''Opportunity'', which operated for years beyond their specification. Current status There are two functional rovers on the surface of Mars, the ''Curiosity'' and ''Perseverance'' rovers, both operated by the American space agency NASA. ''Perseverance'' was accompanied by the '' Ingenuity'' helicopter, which s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mars Landing
A Mars landing is a landing of a spacecraft on the surface of Mars. Of multiple attempted Mars landings by robotic spacecraft, robotic, uncrewed spacecraft, ten have had successful soft landings. There have also been studies for a possible human mission to Mars including a landing, but none has been attempted. As of 2023, the Soviet Union, United States and China have conducted Mars landings successfully. Soviet Mars 3, which landed in 1971, was the first successful Mars landing, though the spacecraft failed after 110 seconds on the surface. All other Soviet Mars landing attempts failed. Viking 1 and Viking 2 were first successful NASA landers, launched in 1975. NASA's Mars Pathfinder, launched in 1996, successfully delivered the first Mars rover, ''Sojourner (rover), Sojourner''. In 2021, first Chinese lander and rover, Tianwen 1, successfully landed on Mars. Methods of descent and landing As of 2021, all methods of landing on Mars have used an aeroshell and parachute sequence ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Artificial Objects On Mars
The following table is a partial list of artificial objects on the surface of Mars, consisting of spacecraft which were launched from Earth. Although most are defunct after having served their purpose, the ''Curiosity (rover), Curiosity'' and ''Perseverance (rover), Perseverance'' rovers are active. China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft is the most recent artificial object to land safely on Mars. The table does not include smaller objects, such as springs, fragments, parachutes and heat shields. , there are 14 missions with objects on the surface of Mars. Some of these missions contain multiple spacecraft. List of landers and vehicles Other objects * Each mission left debris according to its design. For example, the ''Schiaparelli'' EDM lander likely exploded on impact, creating an unknown number of fragments at one location. At another location, there may be a lower heat shield, and at another location, a parachute and upper heat shield. Another example is the counterweights ejec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site
The Wenchang Space Launch Site ( zh, 文昌航天发射场, links=no) is a rocket launch site located in Wenchang on the island of Hainan, in China. Formally a suborbital test center, it currently serves as China's southernmost spaceport. The site was selected for its low latitude, 19° north of the equator, allowing for larger payloads to be launched. It is capable of launching the Long March 5, the heaviest Chinese rocket. Unlike launch facilities on the mainland, Wenchang uses its seaport for deliveries. The construction of the site was complete by October 2014. The first launch took place on 25 June 2016. Due to construction delays, the initial launch of the CZ-5 booster from Wenchang, originally expected to start in 2014 was postponed and took place on 3 November 2016. The CZ-5B (maximum payload to LEO) variant was expected to be completed circa 2018 but the maiden flight took place on 5 May 2020. A CZ-5 carrier rocket was already shipped from North China's Tia ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Long March 5
Long March 5 (LM-5; zh, s=长征五号 , p=Chángzhēng wǔ hào) or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), also known by its nickname "''Pang-Wu''" (胖五, "''Fat-Five''"), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). It is the first Chinese launch vehicle designed to use exclusively non-hypergolic Liquid-propellant rocket, liquid propellants. It is the fifth iteration of the Long March (rocket family), Long March rocket family. There are currently two CZ-5 variants: CZ-5 and CZ-5B. The maximum payload capacities are approximately to low Earth orbit (for CZ-5B) and approximately to geostationary transfer orbit (for CZ-5). The Long March 5 roughly matches the capabilities of American National Security Space Launch, NSSL heavy-lift launch vehicles such as Vulcan Centaur. It is currently the most powerful member of the Long March (rocket family), Long March rocket family and Comparison of orbital launch systems, the world's fifth m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Utopia Planitia
Utopia Planitia ( Greek and Latin: "Utopia Land Plain") is a large plain within Utopia, the largest recognized impact basin on Mars and in the Solar System with an estimated diameter of . It is the Martian region where the '' Viking 2'' lander touched down and began exploring on September 3, 1976, and the ''Zhurong'' rover touched down on May 14, 2021, as a part of the Tianwen-1 mission. It is located at the antipode of Argyre Planitia, centered at . It is also in the Casius quadrangle, Amenthes quadrangle, and the Cebrenia quadrangle of Mars. The region is in the broader North Polar/Borealis Basin that covers most of the Northern Hemisphere of Mars. The Utopia basin is estimated to have formed around 4.3-4.1 billion years ago. The impactor was likely around in diameter. The basin was subsequently mostly filled in, resulting in a mascon (a strong positive gravity anomaly) detectable by orbiting satellites. Many rocks at Utopia Planitia appear perched, as if wind remo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lander (spacecraft)
A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards, then comes to rest on the surface of an astronomical body other than Earth. In contrast to an impact probe, which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface, a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional. For bodies with atmospheres, the landing occurs after atmospheric entry. In these cases, landers may employ parachutes to slow them down enough to maintain a low terminal velocity. In some cases, small landing rockets will be fired just before impact in order to reduce the lander's velocity. Landing may be accomplished by controlled descent and set down on landing gear, with the possible addition of a post-landing attachment mechanism (such as the mechanism used by ''Philae'') for celestial bodies with low gravity. Some missions (for example, Luna 9 and Mars Pathfinder) used inflatable airbags to cushion the lander's impact rather than utilizing more traditional ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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China National Space Administration
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is a government agency of the People's Republic of China headquartered in Haidian District, Haidian, Beijing, responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation. These responsibilities include organizing or leading foreign exchanges and cooperation in the aerospace field. The CNSA is an administrative agency under the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. Founded in 1993, CNSA has pioneered a number of achievements in space for China despite its relatively short history, including becoming the first space agency to land on the far side of the Moon with Chang'e 4, bringing material back from the Moon with Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6, 6, and being the second agency who successfully landed a rover on Mars with Tianwen-1. Tianwen-2 is enroute to explore the co-orbital near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa and the active asteroid 311P/PanSTARRS and collecting samples of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmospheric pressure is a few thousandths of Earth's, atmospheric temperature ranges from and cosmic radiation is high. Mars retains some water, in the ground as well as thinly in the atmosphere, forming cirrus clouds, frost, larger polar regions of permafrost and ice caps (with seasonal snow), but no liquid surface water. Its surface gravity is roughly a third of Earth's or double that of the Moon. It is half as wide as Earth or twice the Moon, with a diameter of , and has a surface area the size of all the dry land of Earth. Fine dust is prevalent across the surface and the atmosphere, being picked up and spread at the low Martian gravity even by the weak wind of the tenuous atmosphere. The terrain of Mars roughly follows a north-south ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tianwen-2
''Tianwen-2'' () is a Chinese asteroid sample return and comet exploration mission that launched on 28 May 2025. China National Space Agency (CNSA) plans for the probe to return samples from asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa in 2027. After the mothership drops off the sample return vessel to Earth, it is planned that it will then rendezvous with main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS and explore it with its 11 onboard instruments. Overview CNSA launched the ''Tianwen-2'' probe using a Long March 3B carrier rocket on 28 May 2025 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. The probe uses solar electric propulsion for maneuvering between its many objectives. It is planned to explore the co-orbital near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa and the main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS. The spacecraft will rendezvous with Kamoʻoalewa and conduct remote sensing observations in orbit, before landing on the asteroid to collect a sample of of regolith. A nano-orbiter and nano- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |