China successfully launches Mars probe that packs an orbiter, lander, rover
- Reference: 1595486049
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/07/23/china_mars_probe_tianwen_1_launch/
- Source link:
The middle kingdom’s previous red planet effort, 2011’s Yinghuo-1, rode on a Russian rocket that failed to leave Earth orbit and therefore did not fulfill its orbital observation mission.
For this new mission, dubbed Tianwen-1, China has used its own Long March 5 heavy lifter and packed in an orbiter, lander and rover.
Chinese State media has [1]confirmed the launch and a People’s Daily [2]social media post includes video of a rocket heading upwards and says it’s Mars-bound.
China’s being typically cagey about the mission, which is believed to plan a landing with a combination of parachutes and airbags before the rover deploys a range of instruments capable of investigating Martian magnetic fields, geology and chemistry. The orbiter packs a camera capable of two-metre resolution from a height of 400kms, plus more magnetosphere-sensing kit.
If the mission succeeds, China will join the USA, Soviet Union, European Union and India as successful sponsors of Mars missions. Only the USA, Soviet Union and EU have landed rovers on the red planet.
China did not live stream the launch and its [3]National Space Agency hardly mentions the mission on its website, never mind conduct the kind of post-launch show that the likes of SpaceX offer.
A stream of news will likely follow if the mission succeeds, as joining the very small club of nations that has successfully reached Mars’ surface would be yet another display of China’s emergence as a scientific superpower. ®
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[1] http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-07/23/c_139234251.htm
[2] https://weibo.com/2803301701/Jcw5iv8HI?from=page_1002062803301701_profile&wvr=6&mod=weibotime&type=comment
[3] http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/index.html
[4] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: a camera capable of two-metre resolution from a height of 400kms
...the Martians, have drawn a great big willy in the sand.
We did - but you didn't recognise it.
Re: a camera capable of two-metre resolution from a height of 400kms
Ya, you were all distracted by that so-called face in the rock for ages, do we have to put another willie to get your attention
Re: a camera capable of two-metre resolution from a height of 400kms
So it was you who vandalised my back garden, I will be avenged!
Re: a camera capable of two-metre resolution from a height of 400kms
If they really wanted to piss of Xi Ping they should put a picture of Winnie the Pooh!
Re: a camera capable of two-metre resolution from a height of 400kms
Such a rich trove to choose from:
"Free Tibet"
"Taiwan is a free country"
"4th June 1989"
"Hong Kong democracy"
"Religious freedom for Uighurs"
Or you could just draw a big dick, that works too....
MRDA :-)
Nice one, China. Bravo.
Warrior Wolf in the hen house and 5g cat amongst the stool pigeons springs immediately to mind.
China has successfully launched a Mars probe.
Did anyone tell them that Matt Damon doesn't need rescuing?
Re: China has successfully launched a Mars probe.
Shouldn’t that be 5G of MCAT amongst the pidgeons amFM?, another great Chinese MK Ultra export?
Re: China has successfully launched a Mars probe.
Shouldn’t that be 5G of MCAT amongst the pidgeons amFM?, another great Chinese MK Ultra export? ...... Cliff Thorburn
:-) No, CT, that would be misleading*, although I imagine the West would just love it to be so, just so that they do not have to try and compete with or against SMARTR Opponents with Components and Assets Travelling in a Virgin Space which they, the Chinese, may have cracked the leading codes for.
* the post was quite amusing though ..... and all too easily recognised as a possible and therefore probable cause of increasingly destructive home-based problems.
Re: China has successfully launched a Mars probe.
s/need/deserve/
Re: China has successfully launched a Mars probe.
It's not there to rescue him. It'll just take a Tik Tok video of him and steal his personal data (already stolen by Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Experian, Equifax, and anyone else with 20p and an app).
"Only the USA, Soviet Union and EU have landed rovers on the red planet."
The EU? Are you sure?
"Europe’s first Mars rover delayed by two years"
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00746-6
Also, the 1971 USSR one only lasted for 20 seconds, I think!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_rover
a camera capable of two-metre resolution from a height of 400kms
One has to hope that when they get there, that either Curiosity or, preferably, the Martians, have drawn a great big willy in the sand.