BEIJING, July 23 -- China's successful launch of its first Mars mission on Thursday attracted global attention as the country has taken the first step in its planetary exploration of the solar system.
The Mars probe aims to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission.
The mission -- consisting of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover -- is "the most ambitious thing one could do on a first attempt," says John Logsdon, a space policy expert at George Washington University.
Chinese scientists are preparing for more missions in the Tianwen series, including ventures to return rock samples from Mars and an asteroid, to perform a flyby of Jupiter and to explore the margins of the sun's vast heliosphere. But if Tianwen-1 reaches Mars as planned, "it will put China in the space exploration business in a big way," said Logsdon.
"Mars mission would put China among space leaders ... A Mars landing is among the most challenging feats in spaceflight," said the Science magazine in a news piece published on June 25.
China's first Mars mission is named Tianwen-1, which literally means Questions to Heaven and comes from a poem written by Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC), one of the greatest poets of ancient China. The name signifies the Chinese nation's perseverance in pursuing truth and science and exploring nature and the universe, said the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
"Tianwen-1 -- 'quest for heavenly truth' -- consists of not only an orbiter, but also a lander and a rover, a trifecta no other nation has accomplished on its first Mars bid," said the Science article.
A Long March-5 rocket, China's largest launch vehicle carrying the spacecraft with a mass of about five tons, soared into the sky from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of southern China's island province of Hainan at 12:41 p.m. (Beijing Time).
About 36 minutes later, the spacecraft, including an orbiter and a rover, was sent into the Earth-Mars transfer orbit, embarking on an almost seven-month journey to the red planet, according to the CNSA.
"Tianwen-1 is going to orbit, land and release a rover all on the very first try, and coordinate observations with an orbiter. No planetary missions have ever been implemented in this way. If successful, it would signify a major technical breakthrough," said an opinion piece on Nature, a world-renown weekly international science and technology journal.
Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany's international broadcaster, said the mission to Mars is "ambitious," not for the inclusion of an orbiter and a Mars rover, but also because it has only taken China several years from the initial planning and mission design to launch in July 2020.
"As with many Mars missions, Tianwen-1 is about learning more about the Red Planet and, through that, for scientists to learn more about our own planet," the DW added.
The scientific goals of Tianwen-1 include mapping the morphology and geological structure, investigating surface soil characteristics and water-ice distribution, analyzing the surface material composition, measuring the ionosphere and the characteristics of the Martian climate and environment at the surface, and perceiving the physical fields and internal structure of Mars.
"The successful launch is only the first step of China's Mars mission, and we hope each of the many key steps of the long journey is completed successfully," said Geng Yan, an official at the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the CNSA.
The key steps include slowing down when close to Mars, orbiting, separating the landing platform and the rover from the orbiter, landing softly and roving.
The craft is expected to enter the orbit of Mars around February 2021. Afterwards, it will spend two to three months surveying potential landing sites using a high-resolution camera to prepare for the landing in May.
到底用mankind还是peoplekind? 加拿大总理也开始“咬文嚼字”
湖北省宜昌市部分示范高中教学协作体2017-2018学年高一上学期期末联考英语试卷
震惊英媒:中国猫咪一夜啪啪5次,累到在医院打吊针
国内英语资讯:China Focus: China highlights fighting gangs and organized crime in annual work plans
国际英语资讯:Economic climate in euro area hits highest level since 2000: think tank
国内英语资讯:Southwest China eases visa permits for foreign talent
莫桑比克否认与朝鲜做生意
平昌冬奥会来了!盘点往届冬奥会开幕式精彩瞬间
国内英语资讯:Chinese president meets Dutch king, calls for closer cooperation on B&R construction
国际英语资讯:Trump speaks over phone with Turkeys Erdogan over cease-fire in Syria
国内英语资讯:Spotlight: Chinese, S. Korean leaders meet in positive atmosphere on China-S. Korea ties, pe
真歉意还是假客套:如何判别道歉是真心还是假意
真歉意还是假客套:如何判别道歉是真心还是假意
国际英语资讯:Israels Netanyahu, Pompeo discuss Syrian, Iranian issues
国内英语资讯:Military World Games opens in Wuhan, ushering in new era
究竟吃什么对头发好呢
Down time?
国内英语资讯:China to further reduce SOE debts
智能春联来了!人人都能来一对儿
国际英语资讯:Mexican president says he backed release of drug kingpins son to save lives
SpaceX猎鹰重型火箭首飞成功!马斯克的特斯拉跑车上太空了
The Real China 真正的中国
体坛英语资讯:Bayern march, Bremen upset Schalke in German Bundesliga
Ladygaga取消巡演,原因是身体太差?
体坛英语资讯:Serbia loses to United States in Davis Cup World Group
国内英语资讯:China to tighten control over guns, explosives
国内英语资讯:Chinese legislator calls for upholding multilateralism at IPU assembly
体坛英语资讯:Cilic, Dodig unison puts Croatia in charge
体坛英语资讯:Uruguay qualify for rugby World Cup by beating Canada
去英国要注意什么?
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |