FIRST ASIAN LANDER TO MARS - DESTINATION : MARS !

[Daniel808]

Now China's Tianwen-1 Mars Spacecraft leaving Earth on the way to Mars at speed ~11.5 km/s

https://twitter.com/x/status/1287274080610263040

Radio enthusiasts are tracking the Tianwen-1 Mars spacecraft as it travels away from us at ~11.5 km/s


#OurSpace #Mars #Tianwen1



Tienwen-1 obviously switched on its High Gain Antenna at 00:30.
This is The Frequency to track 8430.9012 MHz Tianwen-1 Spacecraft

https://twitter.com/x/status/1287239374925684737

 

[Daniel808]

#OurSpace #Tianwen1 #Mars

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1288364953527869441

 

[JSCh]

First TCM (Trajectory Correction Maneuver) reported by enthusiasts.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1288878583226793984

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1289756497644118016

China Xinhua News @XHNews
China's #Mars probe Tianwen-1 successfully carries out first orbital correction Sunday morning after its 3000N engine worked for 20 seconds, and continues to head for the Red Planet http://xhne.ws/kgtxU




10:54 AM · Aug 2, 2020

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1292468043952451589

 

[JSCh]

人民网
【800万公里+！#天问一号多个载荷完成自检#】截至8月19日晚23时20分，#天问一号距离地球约823万公里#，状态正常。8月19日晚22时20分起，环绕器上火星磁强计、矿物光谱分析仪、高分辨率相机、中分辨率相机等载荷依次完成自检，确认设备状态正常。其中，中、高分辨率相机后续将负责对火星表面成像，开展火星表面地形地貌和地质构造研究；火星磁强计后续主要负责探测火星空间磁场环境；火星矿物光谱分析仪则用来分析火星矿物组成与分布。（央视）​

People's Daily Online
[8 million kilometers +! Tianwen-1 multiple loads complete self-check#】

As of 23:20 on the evening of August 19, Tianwen-1 is about 8.23 million kilometers from Earth and its state is normal. Starting at 22:20 on the evening of August 19, the Mars magnetometer, mineral spectrum analyzer, high-resolution camera, and medium-resolution camera on the orbiter will complete self-checks in order to confirm that the equipment is in normal condition. Among them, the medium and high-resolution cameras will be responsible for imaging the Martian surface, and conducting research on the topography and geological structure of the Martian surface; the Martian magnetometer will be mainly responsible for detecting the Martian space magnetic environment; the Martian mineral spectrometer will be used to analyze Martian minerals composition and distribution. (CCTV)

 

[JSCh]

China’s Tianwen-1 Mars probe hits 100 million kilometers mark
By Deng Xiaoci Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/28 10:18:21

China successfully launched its first Mars probe, named Tianwen-1, via a Long March-5 Y4 carrier rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan Province into planned orbit on July 23. Photo: Guo Wenbin/Our Space

China’s Tianwen-1 Mars probe has made it 100 million kilometers into its journey as of Friday at 10:08 am, 36 days after its take-off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China’s Hainan Province via a Long March-5 carrier rocket, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

The Chinese spacecraft is heading toward Mars in steady flight form and in a sound and normal working condition.

Tianwen-1 is now 10.75 million kilometers away from Earth.

According to experts from the CNSA, Tianwen-1 will be some 195 million kilometers from Earth when it reaches Mars, and the actual flight distance is around 470 million kilometers.

So far, Tianwen-1 has accomplished a series of missions including taking and sending back a unique picture of Earth and the Moon as it heads for Mars, and completing its first orbital correction and self-examination of payloads onboard.

Next, the spacecraft will execute further orbital corrections and deep space maneuvers, and carry out capture, landing and roving missions when it approaches the Mars orbit, CNSA said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Friday

 

[JSCh]

China’s first Mars rover has six independent-drive wheels, chief architect reveals
By Deng Xiaoci Source: Global Times Published: 2020/9/18 14:41:23

Photo: Deng Xiaoci/GT

More features of China’s first Mars rover was disclosed at the China Space Conference which kicked off on Friday.

Photoeng Xiaoci/GT

Zhang Rongqiao, chief architect of China’s Tianwen-1 Mars exploration program, unveiled more details about the rover – a 240-kilogram rover with six 30-centimeter-diameter wheels with independent drive, and mounted with butterfly-wing panels.

Zhang focused on the rover – which is aboard the Tianwen-1 currently heading to the Red Planet – during his keynote speech to mark the successful launch of the mission, at the China Space Conference held in Fuzhou, East China’s Fujian Province.

The rover has two “navigation eyes” and is capable of automatically evading obstacles, Zhang said.

Six payloads are carried by the Chinese Mars rover, he said. However, Zhang did not elaborate on the specific names of the payloads.

The program’s chief designer said the entire flight of the Tianwen-1 Mars probe will last approximately 202 days, and the probe will fly 474.4 million kilometers before reaching Mars.

China successfully launched the probe via a Long March-5 carrier rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China’s Hainan Province on July 23.

Photo: Deng Xiaoci/GT

The probe mission aims to achieve orbiting, landing and roving on the Red Planet all in one go. Tianwen-1 is scheduled to land on Mars around May 2021.

As of September 11, per the latest official data by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Tianwen-1 has travelled 137 million kilometers on its journey to Mars.

By 2049, to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the country will conduct a probe mission beyond Uranus, showcasing the country’s interstellar traveling capabilities, Zhang noted.

 

[JSCh]

China's first Mars probe Tianwen-1 completes mid-course correction
Source: Global Times Published: 2020/9/21 9:49:56

China’s Tianwen-1 Mars probe successfully completed its orbital correction for a second time as of 11:00 pm Sunday Beijing time, after 60 days into its journey to the Red Planet, Global Times learned from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Monday morning.

So far, the spacecraft has travelled some 160 million kilometers, bringing it some 19 million kilometers away from Earth, CNSA said in a statement.

Four 120N engines were simultaneously started and ran for 20 seconds to pull off the second orbital correction, which in return verifies the capability of the engines, CNSA said.

The probe is in good working condition, and ground monitoring and communication stations are getting good tracks of the spacecraft.

Tianwen-1, China’s first Mars probe, made its first orbital correction on August 2, when the probe had traveled for approximately 230 hours, and was some 3 million kilometers away from Earth.

The mid-course correction is undertaken to ensure that the spacecraft sticks precisely to the designated and theoretical flight orbit and to correct track deviation caused by various factors.

According to CNSA, the extent of the second correction is very small, as the launch and first correction work was extremely surgical.

Zhang Rongqiao, chief architect of China’s Tianwen-1 Mars exploration program, told the media on Friday at the 2020 China Space Conference that the entire journey of the Tianwen-1 Mars probe will last approximately 202 days, and the probe will fly 474.4 million kilometers before reaching Mars.

China successfully launched the probe via a Long March-5 carrier rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China’s Hainan Province on July 23.

 

[JSCh]

国家航天局发布天问一号探测器飞行图像​

中国航天文化 10-01 08:00 投诉​

阅读数：73158​

10月1日，在举国欢度国庆、中秋双节之际，国家航天局发布我国首次火星探测任务天问一号探测器飞行图像，图上的五星红旗光彩夺目，呈现出鲜艳的中国红。这是我国天问一号探测器首次深空“自拍”，茫茫宇宙中银色的着陆巡视器和金色的环绕器熠熠生辉，天问一号以此向祖国报告平安，表达生日祝福。​

探测器上的五星红旗，尺寸约为39厘米×26厘米，略小于一张A3纸，重量144克，图案采用特殊材料经特殊套印工艺喷涂。​

飞行图像由探测器携带的分离测量传感器拍摄。传感器安装于探测器外侧壁,在地面控制下与探测器本体分离，利用自身两侧安装的两个广角镜头,每秒拍摄一张图像,通过WIFI通信方式将图像传送给探测器,再由探测器转发给地面站。​

天问一号探测器于7月23日成功发射，由长征五号运载火箭直接送入地火转移轨道，飞行期间已成功完成地月合影获取、两次轨道中途修正、载荷自检等工作。截至10月1日凌晨，探测器已飞行1.88亿千米，距地球 2410万千米，飞行状态良好。（杨璐）​

China National Space Administration releases flight images of Tianwen-1 probe
China Aerospace Culture 10-01 08:00

On October 1, on the occasion of the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, the National Space Administration released the flight images of China’s first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 probe. The five-star red flag on the picture is dazzling, showing a bright Chinese red . This is the first deep-space “self-portrait” of China's Tianwen-1 probe. The silver landing patrol device and golden orbiter are shining in the vast universe. Tianwen-1 uses this to report safety to the motherland and express birthday wishes.

The five-star red flag on the detector is about 39 cm x 26 cm in size, slightly smaller than a piece of A3 paper, weighs 144 grams, and the pattern is sprayed with special materials through a special overprinting process.

The flight image is taken by a separate measurement sensor carried by the probe. The sensor is installed on the outer wall of the detector, and is separated from the detector body under ground control. It uses two wide-angle lenses installed on both sides of itself to take an image per second, and transmits the image to the probe through WIFI communication, and the probe then forward to the ground station.

The Tianwen-1 probe was successfully launched on July 23. It was directly sent to the Earth-Mars transfer orbit by the Long March 5 carrier rocket. During the flight, the Earth-Moon photo acquisition, two midway corrections of the orbit, and payload self-check were successfully completed. As of the early morning of October 1, the probe has flown 188 million kilometers, 24.1 million kilometers from the earth, and the flight is in good condition. (Yang Lu)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1311476567869067264

 

[JSCh]

Mars probe makes deep-space maneuver
By Zhao Lei | China Daily | Updated: 2020-10-10 07:10

Mars probe Tianwen 1 is seen in its first selfies in space on Oct 1, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's Tianwen 1 Mars probe carried out a key in-flight maneuver about 30 million kilometers away from Earth on Friday night.

The deep-space orbital operation began at 11 pm, after the robotic vehicle received signals from ground controllers at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. Its main engine, which has 3,000 newtons of thrust power, was activated and operated about eight minutes, moving the spacecraft toward a Martian orbit.

The spacecraft will continue traveling about four months in an Earth-Mars transfer trajectory toward the red planet and will conduct two to three more orbital corrections before entering Mars' gravitational field, according to the China National Space Administration.

Rao Wei, a project manager for Tianwen 1 at the China Academy of Space Technology, said on Friday night that the elaborately designed maneuver was intended to adjust the flight route to enable the spacecraft to fly accurately toward the preset point where the vehicle is expected to be captured by Mars' gravity at the beginning of 2021.

The operation will also allow the probe to continue its journey in a fuel-efficient manner, he explained.

"The biggest challenge in tonight's operation was that the 3,000-newton-thrust engine would need to work for a relatively long period of time under very high pressure and temperature," Rao said, adding that the long-distance control and tracking was also a major challenge.

Cui Xiaofeng, the Mars mission's chief controller at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, said that his team carried out a series of high-accuracy orbital calculations to make sure the deep-space maneuver would achieve its goal. He noted that this move will be crucial to Tianwen 1's future steps.

By Friday night, Tianwen 1 had traveled more than 210 million kilometers, Rao said, adding that the spacecraft is in good condition. The probe has performed two midcourse orbital corrections.

China launched Tianwen 1, the country's first independent Mars mission, on July 23 at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, opening the nation's planetary exploration program.

If everything goes according to schedule, the 5-metric-ton Tianwen 1, which consists of two major parts-an orbiter and a landing capsule-will travel more than 470 million km before its capture by the Martian gravitational field in February, when it will be 193 million km away from Earth.

The mission's ultimate goal is to soft-land a rover around May 2021 on the southern part of Mars' Utopia Planitia-a large plain within Utopia, the largest recognized impact basin in the solar system-to make scientific surveys.

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1314888583900213248

 

[JSCh]

China builds Asia's largest steerable radio telescope for Mars mission
Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-27 14:21:26|Editor: huaxia

Construction site of the steerable radio telescope in Wuqing District of northern China's Tianjin. (Photo provided to Xinhua)

With an antenna the size of nine basketball courts, a radio telescope built in north China will help receive data from the country's first Mars exploration mission.

BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China is constructing the largest steerable radio telescope in Asia with a 70-meter-diameter antenna to receive data from its first Mars exploration mission which is expected to be launched this year.

China aims to complete orbiting, landing and roving on the red planet in one mission, which has been named Tianwen-1.

The telescope, with an antenna the size of nine basketball courts, was built by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuqing District of northern China's Tianjin.

It will be a key facility to receive scientific data sent back by the Mars probe, which can be up to 400 million km from Earth, and the signals will be very weak, said Li Chunlai, deputy chief designer of China's first Mars exploration mission.

An illustration of data transmission between Earth and Mars (Photo provided to Xinhua)

China has successfully launched four lunar probes and completed orbiting and landing on the moon.

However, the distance between the moon and Earth is about 360,000 km to 400,000 km, while the distance between Mars and Earth is 56 million km to 400 million km. The longest Earth-Mars distance is 1,000 times that between Earth and the moon.

"Therefore, receiving extremely weak signals from Mars will be a great challenge," Li said, adding that only a telescope with a large antenna, working in combination with three existing telescopes in Beijing and the southern Chinese city of Kunming, can realize the data receiving.

The construction of the telescope began in October 2018 and is expected to be completed this year. Many new technologies have been utilized to improve efficiency and reduce interference noises, according to Li.

Scientists and workers pose for a photo after the antenna installation at the construction site of the steerable radio telescope in Wuqing District of northern China's Tianjin. (Photo provided to Xinhua)

With a similar natural environment to Earth, Mars has become a hot destination of deep space exploration. Among the over 40 Mars exploration missions since 1961, only about half succeeded.

The exploration of Mars will not only investigate whether there is or was life on Mars but also help bring to light the history of evolution and future development trends of Earth, as well as search for potential living space for human beings, Li said.

The Tianwen-1 mission also inaugurates China's planetary exploration, Li said.

After completion, the telescope will greatly improve China's ability to receive deep space exploration data and will lay a foundation for China's future asteroid and comet probing and other planetary exploration missions, Li added.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1319588015010910208

zengxingguo @zengxingguo
Today, the 70 meters antenna for China's Mars Mission is put into operation for the first time. Photos from my colleague in Wuqing Ground Station.



6:34 PM · Oct 23, 2020

 

[Dark1]

Purely Asian, First Mars Mission without NASA Assistance
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Wenchang Space Launch Centre in Hainan island is so Beautiful, that's why many people call it China's Florida
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Technically right . Without NaSA deep space network.
Instead the Chinese probe is using the european deep space network. The Europeans are as good as the Americans and i am sure they will be able to guide the probe into mar's orbit with precision.
Only sticking point is the angle of insertion and the engine reliability of the probe.

China's Tianwen-1 Mars rover mission gets a boost from international partners

The European, French, Argentine and Austrian space agencies are all helping out.

www.google.com

"At the Long March-5 rollout, the booster's protective payload fairing was seen to be adorned with European (ESA), French (CNES), Argentine (CONAE) and Austrian (FFG) space agency logos, in addition to that of the CNSA.
Tianwen-1 will use ESA's Estrack communications network, and in several ways.
Estrack's Kourou ground station, in French Guiana, South America, will follow the mission on departure from China. Extremely precise navigation/trajectory determination, via ESA's stations in Australia and Spain, will also be provided as Tianwen-1 makes its way to Mars. "

A truly international endeavor with many countries assisting.

Even then best of luck in being the 2nd Asian country after India in trying to enter the mars orbit successfully.