[ad_1]
China’s National Space Agency on Sunday released stunning high-resolution images of Mars captured by its Tianwen-1 probe, which is currently orbiting the Red Planet. Launched on July 23 of last year, Tianwen-1 traveled a distance of 475 million km over a period of 224 days.
China’s Tianwen-1 probe, comprising an orbiter, lander and rover, successfully entered Mars orbit on February 24 after a nearly seven-month journey from Earth.
The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) on March 4 released a new set of images of the surface of Mars, including two panchromatic views and one color image, captured by the spacecraft.
Martian landforms such as small craters, mountain ridges and dunes are clearly visible in the images. The diameter of the largest impact crater in the footage is estimated to be around 620 meters, the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the CNSA, according to a PTI report.
Here are the pictures
“The two black and white images with a resolution of 7 meters were taken by the high definition camera of the Tianwen 1 orbiter while the probe was about 330 to 350 kilometers above the Martian surface” , the CNSA said on its official website.
Black and white photo of Mars taken by the Chinese probe Tianwen-1 (Photo courtesy: China National Space Administration)
“The craters, mountain ridges and sand dunes of the Red Planet are clearly visible in the photos,” CNSA added.
Black and white photo of Mars taken by China’s Tianwen-1 probe (Photo courtesy: China National Space Administration)
“The color image was generated by another camera on the orbiter, showing the north pole of Mars,” said China’s national space agency.
Color photo of Mars taken by the Chinese probe Tianwen-1 (Photo courtesy: China National Space Administration)
Chinese probe Tianwen-1
China launched Tianwen-1 on July 23, 2020, and entered the parking orbit around Mars on February 24 this year. Currently, it is about 212 million km from Earth, according to the CNSA.
The lander carrying the rover is expected to land on Mars in May or June of this year.
Chinese space engineers and scientists have chosen a relatively flat region in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a large plain, as a potential landing zone.
The rover will be released after landing to conduct scientific exploration, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
[ad_2]
Source link