China, the country of the world at the time it actually landed a surface vehicle on Mars after its Zhurong ship landed on the red planet.
The name of the Chinese fire god, Zhurong was aboard the Tianwen-1 spacecraft that was introduced from the launch site of the Wenchang spacecraft in China on July 23, 2020 and entered Mars orbit in february before despite any landing around 7:18 pm EDT on Friday.
It was more than 17 minutes after the rover opened its solar panels and antenna so that signals would cross the distance between Mars and Earth, according to the Associated Press.
There is life in #Mars! We are the life of the party! #Zhurong – Tianwen1 #CNSA @CNSA_en pic. twitter. com/cC8pZVmyVt
China joins the United States as a country that has effectively landed a rover on Mars. An American project first landed on the planet in 2004 and has the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Mars.
The Soviet Union landed a probe on Mars, but the spacecraft failed a few minutes later. The European Space Agency crashed in two attempts to land on the planet.
Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA administrator, congratulated the National Space Administration of China on Twitter.
“Congratulations to the CNSA Tianwen1 team for the successful landing of the first Mars exploration rover in China, #Zhurong!Together with the global clinical community, I look forward to the contributions this project will make to humanity’s understanding of the red planet. “Tweeted. .
The Chinese rover will spend about 93 days on Mars (about 90 days on Earth) inspecting a domain of the planet known as Utopia Planitia, the same domain in which Perseverance landed in February. water ice lines. The rover is approximately the length of a small car and has a ground-penetrating radar, laser and sensors to measure the environment and magnetic sphere.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a congratulatory letter to the project team, called the landing “a vital step in our country’s interplanetary exploration journey, making the leap from Earth-Moon to planetary formula and leaving the Chinese mark on Mars for the first time. “. . . . The homeland and others will not forget your exceptional achievements!
Landing is one of the many missions the country hopes to accomplish. China has begun to build an area station. Part of the station was effectively introduced in April, but China panicked a week ago when the debris from a rocket flew uncontrollably toward Earth, crashing into the Indian Ocean.
Contribute: The Associated Press
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jord_mendoza.