Outer space has always been a topic of curiosity for us. For years, scientists have been tirelessly researching outer space and other planets and coming up with new, jaw-dropping findings. Mars, in particular, has been an avidly researched planet, given its proximity to earth and probability of finding life there. Various countries have been contributing to the research on the red planet with their mars missions. China’s Tianwen spacecraft is one such ambitious mars mission.
New Year’s Surprise from Mars
Launched in July 2020, China’s Tianwen 1 entered the Martian orbit in February 2021. After months of continuous research on and around the red planet, the spacecraft has given us all a big new year’s surprise with spectacular images. These images were snapped by a small camera that flew free of the orbiter to capture stunning selfies above the planet.
China National Space Administration (CNSA) has recently published these images. In these images, the spacecraft can be seen above the north pole of Mars. They display its solar arrays and antennas as well as give a close-up of the orbiter and a view of Mars’ northern ice cap. The orbiter also released a small camera device that took the Mars shots and shared them with it via Wi-Fi.
Keen Responses
These images have been receiving keen responses on social media. Doug Ellison, an avid Mars photographer recently tweeted, “That’s one way to welcome the New Year. We’ve got to up our game for EPO cameras on anything beyond LEO.” Donald E Davis, a space artist also tweeted, “What a cool thing to do! The Chinese have truly taken unprecedented advantage of photographic opportunities during this mission.”
Sun Zezhou, Chief System Designer of Tianwen 1 said, “The orbiter is currently orbiting Mars in very good condition. We can see our orbiter flying around Mars in a working state, and we can clearly see the solar panel wings, directional antenna and some of the antenna facilities in orbit.”
Read more: Chinese future spaceplane may be capable to take off and land at airports
