China marked its first martian mission on the red planet.
The touchdown of China’s spacecraft over Mars has been confirmed, which makes it the third mission of successful human history to safely land in the first attempt. The spacecraft called Tianwen-1 was orbiting around Mars since February and launched a secured capsule to the surface of Mars, marking the Friday afternoon as its day of triumph. The capsule contained Zhurong rover, which was buckled up at the back of the landing machine to deploy the rover.
Given the information about how the rover landed without any issues, China will surely accomplish the victory as the second nation to travel across the surface of Mars following the U.S.
While completing the mission, it is possible that there was certain happiness and celebration, as it is not a shot of a ‘cup of tea’ landing on the surface of a red planet. We have only seen these concepts in movies about the heroic landing and colonization of the human race and whatnot.
The mission control of CNSA must have celebrated the big success, but people didn’t get to watch the hollers or hoots, as it was not shown on television. It was rather reported and listened to by astronomers following the trails of radio signals transmitted back to earth from the spacecraft to monitor the proceedings of the mission.
The lander with Zhurong aimed towards the ‘Utopia Planitia’ known as the vast northern lava plain. NASA’s spacecraft called Viking 2 made landing in the same crater in the year 1976. The lander used a parachute to cross the moments of horror, which was approximately seven minutes passing through the atmosphere of Mars. The mission was successfully performed in the previously selected area, and the report was given by state broadcaster CCTV in a special television program named ‘Nihao Mars.’
According to the reports, it is said that Utopia Planitia may have been surrounded by the Martian ocean and is expected to shelter underground ice. If there is proof of water, then there is a possibility of life as well. Zhurong rover is supposed to explore the region and do research if there was proof of previous life. The landing mission was called by the name of “seven minutes of terror,” as the communication process is difficult and limited.
Associate director of NASA science mission directorate stated on Friday saying “together with the global science community, I look forward to the important contributions this mission will make to humanity’s understanding of the red planet.”
The mission has made China be the first country which has completed the orbiting, landing, and touchdown of rover operation in the first attempt.
For Mars exploration, the last 10 months have been really occupied. By taking the dominance of the earth’s proximity to the surface of the red planet, three spacecraft in which Tianwen-1 is also counted were launched in July 2020. The list includes the United Arab Emirates’ Hope orbiter as well, which is supposed to monitor the atmosphere of Mars from space, and it was installed into orbit recently in February.
NASA’s Perseverance, along with Ingenuity, touched down the surface of Mars and marked its lading by entering in possibly an ancient lakebed, which might have been home for life that existed on Mars in a previous time.
Source :- China’s Spacecraft Marking The Historic Landing With Mars Rover Zhurong
