China has successfully landed its first spacecraft on the surface of Mars, according to Chinese (state) media.
The mission, called Tianwen-1, is the first to send a spacecraft into orbit around the planet, launch a landing platform on the surface of Mars and land a rover all in one voyage.
If all went according to plan, a landing capsule split from Tianwen-1, which was in orbit on Friday afternoon and landed on Mars. The lander and rover landed safely on the red planet, as the capsule passed through the atmosphere of Mars, while the friction raised temperatures above 2.000 degrees Fahrenheit (2000 ° F - 32) × 5/9 = 1093.333 ° C) .
An ultrasonic parachute opened to slow the capsule's fall, and as the lander approached its destination, the propellers began to operate to help slow it down. Then they opened the "legs" to absorb the impact.
China has not released details on the condition of the lander or rover. But if all goes well, the landing would make China the third nation to send a robot to the surface of Mars, since the first landing on Mars did not belong to NASA but to the Soviet Union in 1971.
The Tianwen-1 was launched in July 2020 and the spacecraft orbited Mars in February. The landing was "the most difficult part of the mission," CNSA reported.
Now, China's first lander and rover are in the middle of Utopia Planitia, a vast field of ancient volcanic rock that may have extensive ice and water reserves beneath its surface.
If some space companies like NASA ever send humans to Mars, water would be a critical resource because not only would astronauts need it but it could also be decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel.
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
