China’s Tianwen 1 Mars mission has been awarded one of many spaceflight world’s most prestigious awards.
The Tianwen 1 spacecraft lifted off from Wenchang spaceport on July 23, 2020 and entered Mars orbit in February 2021. The mission’s solar-powered Zhurong rover then efficiently landed within the Red Planet‘s Utopia Planitia plain in Could that yr.
The mission carried out a historic first-ever mixed orbiting, touchdown and roving in a single launch, incomes the mission the Worldwide Astronautical Federation’s annual space achievement award on Sunday (Sept. 18) through the 73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Paris.
Associated: The latest news about China’s space programÂ
Worldwide Astronautical Federation (IAF) President Pascale Ehrenfreund launched the group behind the event of the spacecraft at a spotlight lecture at this yr’s IAC.Â
Jilian Wang, vice chairman on the China Academy of Area Expertise (CAST) that developed the spacecraft, introduced an outline of the mission and outlined among the main scientific achievements up to now in a spotlight lecture, together with a global mapping of the Purple Planet and a returning information providing proof for an ancient Martian ocean.
Wang additionally famous visible highlights from the mission, together with Mars orbit selfies and orbital insertion movies.
Tianwen 1 is continuous its prolonged science missions in Mars orbit, however down on the floor the Zhurong rover is currently hibernating to see out the winter in Mars’s northern hemisphere.Â
The 530-pound (240 kilograms) solar-powered rover is at present anticipated to get up and resume actions in December or January, when extra solar power reaches Mars, a mission group member stated throughout a query and reply session.
China can also be trying to observe up its Mars success with an formidable mission to gather samples from Mars and ship them to Earth. The mission is called Tianwen 3 and can contain a pair of Long March 5 launches — China’s largest rocket — round 2028 to ship touchdown and orbiter spacecraft to the Purple Planet.Â
Earlier than this, the nation goals to conduct its first asteroid sample-return mission with Tianwen 2, launching round 2025.
The missions are additionally prone to be open to worldwide cooperation. “We want to accomplice with extra space businesses, space corporations, universities and all types of different entities,” Wang stated. “As at all times, worldwide companions are welcome to affix us.”
Japan’s Hayabusa2 group asteroid pattern return mission gained the award in 2021. China beforehand won (opens in new tab) the IAF award in 2020 for the Chang’e 4 touchdown on the far facet of the moon.
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