China has managed to land 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 lander separated from the orbiting Tianwen-1 on Friday afternoon and crashed into Mars. The lander and rover crashed with better safety on the red planet, after the capsule passed through the Martian atmosphere, friction raising temperatures above 2.000 degrees Fahrenheit (2000°F − 32) × 5/9 = 1093.333°C).
A supersonic parachute opened to slow her down drop of the capsule, and as the lander neared its destination, the thrusters kicked in to help slow it down. Then the "legs" also opened to absorb the impact.
China has not released details about 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 Mars landing belongs not to NASA but to the Soviet Union Union the 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.
