China’s Tianwen-1 Mars Probe to Be Extended; Enters Final Leg of Planetary Survey

China's first interplanetary probe mission has reached the end of its worldwide remote-sensing investigation of Mars after the Tianwen-1 orbiter completed its fifth braking and entered a new mission orbit autonomously late Monday.

Global Times learned from the orbiter development team at the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) that four 102N engines worked for 260 seconds. It reached a speed increment of 78 meters per second for the late Monday maneuver of the Tianwen-1 orbiter.

The Tianwen-1 probe has completed all mission stages thus far, including being caught by Mars' gravity, orbiter-lander separation, Zhurong rover landing, and rover wandering and exploration. In a statement to the Global Times, the academy claimed that global remote sensing had reached its ultimate stage.

According to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, Tianwen 1 fired its engines for 260 seconds on Monday (Nov. 8), boosting its speed by 256 feet (78 meters) per second (Chinese). This changed the orbit of the spacecraft from once every 8 hours and 12 minutes. It would also make the closest approach of 248 miles (400 kilometers) and the highest point of 12,000 kilometers (7,456 miles), to once every 7 hours and 5 minutes, with a periapsis of 265 kilometers (165 miles) and an apoapsis of around 10,700 kilometers (6,500 miles).

China's Tianwen 1 Mars Orbiter Starts Its Planetary Survey

Space.com said an orbit with 7 hours and 48 minutes was planned initially for Tianwen 1's scientific phase. However, because Zhurong's primary mission lasts longer than three months, the project's scientists developed the new orbit to allow Tianwen 1 to complete its goal of completing a worldwide survey of Mars while also assisting with data relay from Zhurong to Earth.

Tianwen 1 is equipped with seven research packages, including medium- and high-resolution cameras for mapping huge areas of Mars and returning crisper, more focused photos of its surface. Meanwhile, the Mars Orbiter Subsurface Investigation Radar (MOSIR), a sounding radar, will scour the surface for water ice. Impact craters, volcanoes, and canyons are among the most interesting targets.

Tianwen 1 also has a magnetometer and a mineralogical spectrometer for determining the surface composition and particle analyzers for atmospheric investigations. Because Tianwen 1's orbit crosses over the planet's poles, it will be able to scan the whole surface of the planet over time as the spacecraft revolves and the globe spins.

Probe Might Stay Longer, Experts Say

The spacecraft is designed to last for 473 years, CGTN said. Although Tianwen 1 might be programmed to stay active for longer. Zhu Xinbo, the orbiter's deputy chief designer, told CCTV that they would create new missions depending on the orbiter's special characteristics and then lower its orbit for closer observation of Mars and more exploratory data when the orbiter's planned lifetime ends at the end of next year.

Tianwen 1 data will also be used to advise and plan future Mars missions, including a high-profile Chinese sample return mission that might launch as early as 2028.

Meanwhile, Zhurong is continuing its journey south from its landing platform, covering a total distance of 1,253 meters (4,111 feet), implying that the roughly 240-kilograms (530-pound) solar-powered vehicle has covered 71 meters (233 feet) since resuming activity following a recent Mars communication blackout caused by solar conjunction.

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