China has successfully launched its Tianwen-1 mission to Mars mission on a Long March-5 carrier rocket, which took off under perfectly clear skies around 12:40 p.m. from Hainan Island. Zhang Xueyu, launch commander, announced “The Mars rover has accurately entered the scheduled orbit,” to cheers in the control room. This marks the second flight to Mars in a single week, after the UAE orbiter was sent off on a rocket from Japan on Monday. Read more for a video and additional information.
Tianwen-1 would start orbiting around Mars in February 2021 if all goes as planned and then search for a landing site on Utopia Planitia — a plain where there could be underground ice, according to NASA. If the site is clear, the landing attempt would take place in April or May next year, when the secretive 530-pound rover is expected to operate for approximately three months, and the orbiter for two years.
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At no other time in our history have we seen anything like what is unfolding with these three unique missions to Mars. Each of them is a science and engineering marvel,” said the Space Foundation’s chief executive officer Thomas Zelibor said in an online panel discussion.
