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China’s plans for interplanetary exploration simply took a big step forward. The Guardian reports that the country’s Tianwen-1 probe has returned its first photo of Mars, capturing a black-and-white snapshot from about 1.4 million miles away. It doesn’t compare to the more detailed images from other explorers (certainly not those on the ground), but that’s not really the point – this is proof that China can send a spacecraft to Mars.
The probe should enter the orbit of Mars on February 10, and its rover will land in the Utopia impact basin in May.
The country tried to send a mission to Mars in 2011 with Russian help, but the launch failed. Not that trips to the Red Planet have been easy for anyone. ESA, Russia, the US and other countries and organizations have routinely struggled to make the journey.
A successful landing of the Tianwen-1 rover would clearly increase China’s pride as it embarks on other ambitious projects, including putting a new space station into orbit by 2022. It will effectively serve as a symbolic contrast to NASA’s Perseverance mission and could help China justify further exploration. beyond Earth.
