Tag: CNSA
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China lands its first probe on Mars
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) with more details. Artist’s illustration of the Tianwen 1 orbiter and rover at Mars. Credit: CNSA / Chinese Academy of Sciences / Nature Astronomy China’s space agency said Friday the country’s first Mars rover safely touched down and began sending data back to Earth, joining the United…
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China succeeds on country’s first Mars landing attempt with Tianwen-1
China has become only the second nation to successfully land a spacecraft on Mars on Friday, joining the United States. Tianwen-1, China’s first mission to the Red Planet, launched in the middle of last year, sharing the particularly busy July 2020 Martian launch window with NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, including the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter, and…
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Chinese rover heads for landing on Mars
Artist’s illustration of the Tianwen 1 orbiter and rover at Mars. Credit: CNSA / Chinese Academy of Sciences / Nature Astronomy A Chinese rover outfitted with cameras, a weather station, and a sophisticated laser spectrometer could touch down on Mars as soon as Friday, a feat that would make China the second nation to successfully…
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China preparing to build Tiangong station in 2021, complete by 2022
China is gearing up for its next big leap in space exploration: the construction of its modular crewed space station, the Tiangong. Starting in 2021, the construction of the Tiangong orbital space station is expected to be complete in 2022 after eleven missions, including three launches of different modules, four launches of cargo vehicles and…
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China, with Tianwen-1, begins tenure at Mars with successful orbital arrival
The Tianwen-1 orbiter, lander, and rover mission to Mars from the People’s Republic of China has successfully arrived at the Red Planet following an approximately 15 minute Mars Orbit Insertion burn that placed the craft into orbit. The arrival capped a seven-month cruise to Mars and marks the start of a multi-pronged scientific mission that…
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Chinese mission returned nearly 4 pounds of lunar samples
Staff members handle the capsule containing lunar samples returned by the Chang’e 5 mission. Credit: Xinhua Chinese officials say they plan to share a portion of the nearly 4 pounds of lunar material returned by the Chang’e 5 mission with other countries, but an allocation for U.S. scientists will hinge on a change in U.S.…
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China launches world’s first lunar sample return mission since 1976
The Chang’e 5 lunar orbiter, lander, and sample collection return vehicle left its sea-side launch pad at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan province, People’s Republic of China to begin its journey to the moon right on time at 20:30:12 UTC (15:30:12 EST) on 23 November. The mission launched on a Chang Zheng…
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China seeks “Heavenly Questions” with ambitious Tianwen-1 mission to Mars
The Tianwen-1 Orbiter, Lander, and Rover departed for Mars at 00:41 EDT (04:41 UTC) on Thursday, 23 July 2020 from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan, People’s Republic of China. The flight is the first China-led mission to another planet and seeks to be the first successful Chinese Mars endeavour. Liftoff of the…