Tianwen-1, meaning “Search for Heavenly Truth,” was launched in 2020 and landed on Mars last May, when the Zhurong rover aboard began its mission to patrol and explore the planet as the orbiter circled overhead. .
China’s National Space Agency (CNSA) said in a statement that the probe has now completed all tasks assigned to it, including capturing medium-resolution images spanning the entire planet.
The images, published by the space agency on social media, show the rugged terrain of the Martian landscape: dusty red sand dunes, shield volcanoes, impact craters, Antarctic ice caps, cliffs and hills in the Valles Marineris – one of the valleys. The largest canyons in our solar system.
The images were taken by the probe, which orbited Mars 1,344 times, taking pictures of the planet from every angle as the rover explored its surface, the US space agency said.
The six-wheeled craft carried scientific instruments during its journey and collected information about the geological structure of Mars, the atmosphere, the environment and the soil. Probe collected 1040 GB of Raw scientific data, which she has The agency said scientists on the ground processed it and handed it over to research teams for further investigation.
CNSA said it participated in the orbiter Flight information at NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) and scientific The data will be available “in due course” to international scientists.
With low temperatures during the winter on Mars, as well as poor sand and dust conditions, the rover went dormant on May 18, which will continue through the harsh season before it is expected to wake up in December — when it enters its landing zone in early spring, leaving better the weather.
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The space agency said the orbiter will continue to conduct tests and prepare for future missions.
Before China’s success with Tianwen-1, only the United States and the former Soviet Union had landed spacecraft on Mars — but India, the European Space Agency and the United Arab Emirates sent spacecraft to enter the planet’s orbit.
With Tianwen-1, China was the first country to attempt to send an orbiter and rover on its first domestic mission to Mars. For example, NASA sent several orbiters to Mars before attempting to land.
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