The Chinese spacecraft Tianwen-1 returned its first snapshot of Mars.
CNSA
February is a busy month on Mars, with three space missions get closer to the red planet. China’s Tianwen-1 is one of them, and it has already seen its new home in the solar system. The Chinese National Space Agency released Tianwen-1’s first look at Mars on Friday.
CNSA described the image as “the first snapshot of the Chinese vessel” in a statement, saying it was captured at a distance of about 1.4 million miles (2.2 million kilometers). The stark black and white photo shows Mars against the dark background of space.
CNSA earlier has released a spacecraft ‘selfie’ in September 2020 with Tianwen-1 on its long flight.
The Chinese spacecraft has made some corrections to its orbit to put it neatly in orbit on February 10. The mission consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover. It will spend some time traveling around Mars before attempting to land the harrowing part of the mission.
Joining Tianwen-1 will be in orbit NASA’s persistence mission and the United Arab Emirates Hope probe. Reaching orbit is a big deal for all of them, although NASA will focus on Feb. 18 when it attempts to land the Perseverance rover on the surface.
Tianwen-1’s snapshot of Mars is dramatic not only because of the view of the red planet, but also because of the hopes and goals it represents.
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