US-China Probes Enter Mars Orbit... Dawn of the Mars Era

China's First Mars Probe Tianwen-1 Successfully Enters Orbit, Landing Scheduled for May-June
US Fifth Rover Perseverance Expected to Arrive Around 18th, Confirming Mars Lifeforms

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] The prologue of Mars exploration has begun. The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Mars probe 'Amal (Hope)' successfully entered Mars orbit at 12:57 a.m. on the 10th (Korean time), followed by China's Mars probe 'Tianwen (Ask the Sky) 1' entering Mars orbit around 9:07 p.m. the same day. The United States' Mars exploration rover 'Perseverance' is expected to arrive in Mars orbit around the 18th.

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China's first Mars probe Tianwen-1 entering Mars orbit (Photo by Baidu Capture)

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced that Tianwen 1 began engine deceleration for Mars orbit insertion at around 8:52 p.m. on the 10th and entered Mars orbit about 15 minutes later. This marks the sixth time a probe has entered Mars orbit, following the United States, Russia (former Soviet Union), European Space Agency (ESA), India, and UAE. If Tianwen 1 succeeds in landing on Mars, China will become the third country after the United States and Russia to land on Mars.

CNSA explained that Tianwen 1 is currently orbiting Mars at an altitude of about 400 km.

On the same day, Chinese state media including the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and CCTV simultaneously reported the success of Tianwen 1's Mars orbit insertion. Coincidentally, the success came just before the Lunar New Year (Chunjeol) holiday, creating an even more enthusiastic atmosphere among the Chinese people. Tianwen 1 is an excellent symbol for promoting the 'Chinese Dream (Zhongguo Meng)', which signifies the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The People's Daily and other Chinese media reported that Tianwen 1, now orbiting Mars, will conduct Mars atmospheric measurements, surface observation, and photography missions. After identifying the landing site, preparations for landing will begin.

The Mars surface landing is expected to take place around May to June. Tianwen 1 consists of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover orbiting Mars.

The Global Times quoted CNSA's announcement, stating, "Tianwen 1 is designed to perform orbit insertion, landing, and exploration in a single mission," adding, "This means China has completed the core stages of its Mars exploration program."

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Imaginary illustration of Perseverance conducting an exploration mission on Mars
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The US Mars exploration rover Perseverance, launched about a week later than China’s probe, is expected to arrive in Mars orbit around the 18th. Perseverance is the United States' fifth Mars probe.

Launched on July 30 last year (Eastern US time), Perseverance's main mission is to land in an area believed to have had water 3.5 billion years ago and search for traces of ancient life on Mars.

To this end, Perseverance is equipped with scanning instruments to detect organic materials and minerals. It also carries a SuperCam that fires lasers to analyze the composition of vaporized rocks and radar imaging equipment to understand subsurface geological features.

It also brought an in-situ resource utilization experiment device to investigate Mars' oxygen atmosphere. This device aims to verify whether oxygen can be produced from carbon dioxide extracted from the Martian atmosphere. A sample storage device is also included. It is tasked with collecting and storing rock cores to be delivered to the next Mars probe.

NASA is currently preparing a joint project with Europe to bring back the sample storage device. Basic surveys, such as taking photos of the Martian surface, have already been completed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.