UPSC Articles
Tianwen-1: China’s first Mars mission
Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-III – Space; Science and Technology
In News:
- In July, China will launch its first Mars mission, the ‘Tianwen-1’.
- It is expected to land on Mars in the first quarter of 2021.
Key takeaways
- Tianwen-1 is an all-in-one orbiter, lander and rover.
- It will search the Martian surface for water, ice, investigate soil characteristics, and study the atmosphere.
- The Tianwen-1 mission will lift off on a Long March 5 rocket.
- If the mission is successful, China will become the third country to achieve a Mars landing after the USSR and the United States.
- Around the same time in July, NASA will also launch its own Mars mission– ‘Perseverance’.
- It aims to collect Martian samples and bring them back to Earth in a two-part campaign.
