The spacecraft lifted off this morning on a Long March 5 rocket.
China has successfully launched the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars, a first for the country and the second of three missions scheduled to lift-off to the Red Planet this summer.
A Long March 5 rocket carrying the spacecraft lifted off from the Wenchang spaceport on Hainan Island at 12:40 A.M. Eastern Time this morning. The China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Tianwen-1, which translates as “Quest for Heavenly Truth”, will now take seven months to reach Mars, arriving in February 2021.
Upon arrival at Mars the spacecraft – comprising an orbiter, lander, and rover – will enter orbit above the Martian surface. From here it will assess the planned landing site for the lander and rover, Utopia Planitia, by taking images of the surface.
In April, the lander and rover will separate from the orbiter and begin a daring descent to the Martian surface. The two will autonomously pass through the Martian atmosphere and use a parachute and thrusters to come in for a gentle landing, a process that takes seven minutes – often called the “seven minutes of terror”.
“Tianwen-1 is going to orbit, land and release a rover all on the very first try, and coordinate observations with an orbiter,” Wan Weixing, the late chief engineer on the mission, wrote in a Nature Astronomy article published earlier this month.
“No planetary missions have ever been implemented in this way. If successful, it would signify a major technical breakthrough.”
Crowds gathered on Hainan Island to watch the launch.
After landing the rover will drive down a ramp from the landing platform onto the Martian surface. Here it will use a variety of instruments to study and image the surface for at least 90 Martian days, with the possibility of extending the mission beyond that.
The rover measures about two meters across and weighs 240 kilograms. It is powered by solar power and has six instruments and two cameras on board, with its science goals including looking for water-ice beneath the surface of Mars and studying the composition of Martian rocks.
The orbiter, meanwhile, will be moved from an equatorial orbit around Mars to an inclined orbit. This will allow it to image most of the planet as it rotates underneath, while also acting as a relay communications link for the lander and rover on the ground back with Earth.
Tianwen-1 is China’s first-ever attempt at reaching Mars, similar in design to its pioneering Chang’e-3 and Chang’e-4 Moon landers and rovers. In 2019, the latter became the first mission to ever touch down on the far side of the Moon.
Tianwen-1 is designed to operate at least 90 Martian days on the surface.
This is not the only mission to Mars launching this year, though. Journeys to the Red Planet are possible every 26 months, when our two planets align for the shortest traversal for several weeks, and several countries have targeted this launch window.
On Sunday, July 19, the United Arab Emirates Hope spacecraft launched to Mars on a Japanese rocket. The mission consists of an orbiter, which will become the first Martian weather satellite, provide daily updates on its weather, while also performing other studies and imaging the surface.
And in a week, no earlier than Thursday, July 30, NASA’s Perseverance rover is expected to launch to Mars on an Atlas V rocket. It is targeting a landing in the exciting Jezero Crater, which is thought to be home to an ancient lakebed and river delta. Here, it will conduct the most extensive search for life on Mars to date.
A fourth mission, Europe’s ExoMars rover, was also supposed to launch in this window. However, issues with its parachute system and delays due to the coronavirus pandemic meant the mission was pushed back to the next Mars launch window in 2022.
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