China's Tianwen-1 is all set for its Mars landing attempt tomorrow, May 14 according to reports. The said spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet since February this year, and it is finally set to attempt a touchdown on Mars.
A cΙnet report said China may soon become the third nation to safely touch down on Mars' surface. On Friday, the news site specified that the China National Space Administration will attempt landing its Zhurong rover on Mars, experiencing what's called in space "seven minutes of terror" which Martian exploration robots endured, Chinese space watchers said.
What's described as the "ambitious" Tianwen-1 mission to Mars, as described in Space.com, launched in July last year. It comprises three spacecraft which include an orbiter which is currently circling the Red Planet, a lander, and a rover.
China's Preliminary Mission to Mars
China's Mars landing attempt is the country's first mission to the Red Planet, and landing on Mars is described as a difficult task. More so, only roughly half of the trips to the said planet have proven success, and no agency other than NASA has successfully landed on the surface since 1973.
This report said, China has been relatively mum about when the entry, descent, and landing are expected to start, although reports have suggested it is going to take place today, May 14, at 4:11 pm, PT, or 11:11 pm, UTC.
Both the lander and rover are presently enclosed within a shielding shell, although it will detach from the orbiter earlier and start heading toward the surface.
When it reaches the Martian atmosphere, the roughly "seven minutes of terror" then starts. The lander-rover duo will then, slam into the weak and fragile atmosphere, safely placed within a heat shield.
The moment the spacecraft punches through, the heat shield will fall apart and there will be a deployment of the parachute to slow down the vehicle.
Mars Landing Attempt of Zhurong
Zhurong's Mars, according to a similar ABC News report, landing attempt will appear slightly different from NASA's Perseverance rover in February. This NASA invention was carefully lowered to the surface through its tried-and-true "skycrane" approach, which saw the rover touch down softly in an ancient lake bed of Mars.
In addition, the descent of Zhurong will feel the same as Perseverance, although the lander will be performing all the tasks. It utilizes a suite of cameras and lidar for navigation to the surface.
If the touchdown succeeds, it will deploy a ramp for this Chinese rover to roll out onto the Red Planet and start its exploration mission.
Utopia Planitia is the mission's landing zone, Mars' same region where Viking 2 lander of NASA touched down in 1976. Viking 2 was a specifically interesting mission as some scientists suggested it had discovered signs of life.
90 Martian Days on the Surface
This cΙnet report also said China is targeting to spend 90 Martian days for Zhurong to spend on the surface.
Livestream link will be provided online once it becomes available, although if the Chang'e missions to the moon are anything to go by, it wouldn't expect to see too much until there has been a confirmation of such landing.
Related information is shown on TomoNews US's YouTube video:
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Check out more news and information on Mars on Science Times.
