REDS GO TO RED PLANET
China successfully launches first independent Mars mission
China has launched an unmanned probe to Mars in its first independent mission to another planet, a bid for global leadership in space and a display of its technological prowess and ambition.
Key points:
Only the United States and Soviet Union have successfully landed rovers on Mars to date
A China-Russia joint mission to Mars in 2011 failed when the spacecraft failed to leave the Earth's orbit
This year's Mars launching season is particularly busy, with the US and UAE also launching missions
The Tianwen-1 was launched on a Long March-5 carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan.
US and UAE launching Mars missions this month
This Mars-launching season — which occurs every 26 months when Earth and Mars are at their closest — is especially busy.
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The UAE spacecraft Amal, or Hope, which will orbit Mars but not land, is the Arab world's first interplanetary mission.
NASA's Perseverance rover is up next.
"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," the Space Foundation's chief executive officer Thomas Zelibor said in an online panel discussion earlier this week.
China's road to Mars hit a few bumps: A Long March-5 rocket, nicknamed "Fat 5" because of its bulky shape, failed to launch earlier this year.
The coronavirus pandemic forced scientists to work from home. In March, when instruments needed to be transported from Beijing to Shanghai, three team members drove 12 hours to deliver them.
While China is joining the US, Russia and Europe in creating a satellite-based global navigation system, experts say it isn't trying to overtake the US lead in space exploration.
Instead, Mr Cheng of the Heritage Foundation said China is in a "slow race" with Japan and India to establish itself as Asia's space power.
China has launched an unmanned probe to Mars in its first independent mission to another planet, a bid for global leadership in space and a display of its technological prowess and ambition.
Key points:
Only the United States and Soviet Union have successfully landed rovers on Mars to date
A China-Russia joint mission to Mars in 2011 failed when the spacecraft failed to leave the Earth's orbit
This year's Mars launching season is particularly busy, with the US and UAE also launching missions
The Tianwen-1 was launched on a Long March-5 carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan.
Livestreams showed a successful lift-off, with rockets blazing orange and the spacecraft heading upward across clear blue skies.
Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out excitedly on a beach across the bay from the launch site.
If successful, it will make China the first country to orbit, land and deploy a rover in its inaugural mission.
China's tandem spacecraft — with both an orbiter and a rover — will take seven months to reach Mars, like the others. Landing, meanwhile, will take seven minutes.
The probe is expected to reach Mars in February. It will then attempt to deploy a rover to explore the planet for 90 days.
If all goes well, Tianwen-1, or "quest for heavenly truth", will look for underground water as well as evidence of possible ancient life.
There will be challenges ahead as the craft nears Mars, Liu Tongjie, spokesman for the mission, told reporters ahead of the launch.
"When arriving in the vicinity of Mars, it is very critical to decelerate," he said.
"If the deceleration process is not right, or if flight precision is not sufficient, the probe would not be captured by Mars," he said, referring to gravity on Mars taking the craft down to the surface.
Mr Liu said the probe would orbit Mars for about two and a half months and look for an opportunity to enter its atmosphere and make a soft landing.
Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out excitedly on a beach across the bay from the launch site.
If successful, it will make China the first country to orbit, land and deploy a rover in its inaugural mission.
China's tandem spacecraft — with both an orbiter and a rover — will take seven months to reach Mars, like the others. Landing, meanwhile, will take seven minutes.
The probe is expected to reach Mars in February. It will then attempt to deploy a rover to explore the planet for 90 days.
If all goes well, Tianwen-1, or "quest for heavenly truth", will look for underground water as well as evidence of possible ancient life.
There will be challenges ahead as the craft nears Mars, Liu Tongjie, spokesman for the mission, told reporters ahead of the launch.
"When arriving in the vicinity of Mars, it is very critical to decelerate," he said.
"If the deceleration process is not right, or if flight precision is not sufficient, the probe would not be captured by Mars," he said, referring to gravity on Mars taking the craft down to the surface.
Mr Liu said the probe would orbit Mars for about two and a half months and look for an opportunity to enter its atmosphere and make a soft landing.
China's Mars rover shown in action during the testing phase.(AP: Andy Wong)
'A whole lot of prestige' riding on successful landing
It marked the second flight to Mars this week, after a United Arab Emirates orbiter blasted off on a rocket from Japan on Monday.
The US is also aiming to launch Perseverance, its most sophisticated Mars rover ever, from Florida's Cape Canaveral next week.
This year's launch is not Beijing's first attempt at sending a spacecraft to Mars.
In 2011, a Chinese orbiter accompanying a Russian mission was lost when the spacecraft failed to get out of Earth's orbit after launching from Kazakhstan, eventually burning up in the atmosphere.
This time, China is going at it alone. It also is fast-tracking, launching an orbiter and rover on the same mission instead of stringing them out.
China's secretive space program has developed rapidly in recent decades.
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Yang Liwei became the first Chinese astronaut in 2003, and last year, Chang'e-4 became the first spacecraft from any country to land on the far side of the moon.
"There is a whole lot of prestige riding on this," said Dean Cheng, an expert on Chinese aerospace programs at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, referring to the launch today.
Landing on Mars is notoriously difficult. Only the US has successfully landed a spacecraft on Martian soil on several occasions, doing it eight times since 1976.
NASA's InSight and Curiosity rovers still operate today. Six other spacecraft are exploring Mars from orbit: three American, two European and one from India.
Unlike the two other Mars missions launching this month, China has tightly controlled information about the program — even withholding any name for its rover.
National security concerns led the US to curb cooperation between NASA and China's space program.
'A whole lot of prestige' riding on successful landing
It marked the second flight to Mars this week, after a United Arab Emirates orbiter blasted off on a rocket from Japan on Monday.
The US is also aiming to launch Perseverance, its most sophisticated Mars rover ever, from Florida's Cape Canaveral next week.
This year's launch is not Beijing's first attempt at sending a spacecraft to Mars.
In 2011, a Chinese orbiter accompanying a Russian mission was lost when the spacecraft failed to get out of Earth's orbit after launching from Kazakhstan, eventually burning up in the atmosphere.
This time, China is going at it alone. It also is fast-tracking, launching an orbiter and rover on the same mission instead of stringing them out.
China's secretive space program has developed rapidly in recent decades.
Loading
Yang Liwei became the first Chinese astronaut in 2003, and last year, Chang'e-4 became the first spacecraft from any country to land on the far side of the moon.
"There is a whole lot of prestige riding on this," said Dean Cheng, an expert on Chinese aerospace programs at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, referring to the launch today.
Landing on Mars is notoriously difficult. Only the US has successfully landed a spacecraft on Martian soil on several occasions, doing it eight times since 1976.
NASA's InSight and Curiosity rovers still operate today. Six other spacecraft are exploring Mars from orbit: three American, two European and one from India.
Unlike the two other Mars missions launching this month, China has tightly controlled information about the program — even withholding any name for its rover.
National security concerns led the US to curb cooperation between NASA and China's space program.
A Long March-5 rocket is seen at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in Hainan, China.(AP: Zhang Gaoxiang Via Xinhua)
US and UAE launching Mars missions this month
This Mars-launching season — which occurs every 26 months when Earth and Mars are at their closest — is especially busy.
Loading
The UAE spacecraft Amal, or Hope, which will orbit Mars but not land, is the Arab world's first interplanetary mission.
NASA's Perseverance rover is up next.
"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," the Space Foundation's chief executive officer Thomas Zelibor said in an online panel discussion earlier this week.
China's road to Mars hit a few bumps: A Long March-5 rocket, nicknamed "Fat 5" because of its bulky shape, failed to launch earlier this year.
The coronavirus pandemic forced scientists to work from home. In March, when instruments needed to be transported from Beijing to Shanghai, three team members drove 12 hours to deliver them.
While China is joining the US, Russia and Europe in creating a satellite-based global navigation system, experts say it isn't trying to overtake the US lead in space exploration.
Instead, Mr Cheng of the Heritage Foundation said China is in a "slow race" with Japan and India to establish itself as Asia's space power.
The United Arab Emirates' Hope probe is the first to be launched from the Arab world.(AP: MBRSC)
The former Soviet Union is the only other country to land a rover on Mars: Mars 3, which became the first spacecraft to touch down safely on the red planet, on December 2, 1971.
It stopped transmitting after just 14.5 seconds for unknown reasons, however, according to NASA.
In 2016, a European space probe was destroyed on impact when it attempted a surface landing.
Another launch initially planned for this year, the EU-Russian ExoMars, was postponed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
ABC/wires
The former Soviet Union is the only other country to land a rover on Mars: Mars 3, which became the first spacecraft to touch down safely on the red planet, on December 2, 1971.
It stopped transmitting after just 14.5 seconds for unknown reasons, however, according to NASA.
In 2016, a European space probe was destroyed on impact when it attempted a surface landing.
Another launch initially planned for this year, the EU-Russian ExoMars, was postponed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
ABC/wires
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