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The Tianwen-1 orbiter seen orbiting above Mars. Photo: Xinhua

China’s Tianwen-1 sends back pictures showing probe orbiting round Mars

  • Images show the ice caps on the north pole of the red planet as one of the country’s most ambitious space missions continues
  • Last year China became only the second country to successfully land a rover on the surface of the planet
China published on Saturday photos showing its Mars orbiter Tianwen-1 circling above the north pole of the red planet.

The photo was taken by a detachable sensor equipped with two wide-angle lenses on the outer wall of the probe that was controlled from earth, according to the Chinese National Space Administration.

The mission is a major step forward for China’s space programme. Photo: Xinhua

The data was then sent to the probe, which transferred a total of four images to ground control.

In two of the images the golden spacecraft can be seen against the background of a pinkish landscape sprinkled with bright-white frost patches, which the CNSA identified as ice caps.

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“Solar wings and radar antennas are in good condition,” the agency said on its website on Saturday.

Unlike the ice on the earth’s polar regions, Martian ice is a mixture of frozen carbon dioxide and water.

The images also include one taken on the surface of the planet by the Zhu Rong rover.

The Tianwen mission – which means heavenly questions Chinese – is a milestone for China’s ambitious space programme.

An image sent from the surface taken by the Zhu Rong rover. Photo: Xinhua
It was launched on July 23 in 2020 and went into orbit around Mars seven months later. In May last year Zhu Rong, named after the Chinese god of fire, landed on the planet.

That feat meant China was only the second country after the United States to successfully land an operating spacecraft on Mars.

Its mission is to explore the surface and geology of the planet as well as its magnetic field, soil composition and atmosphere.
Martian ice is a mixture of frozen carbon dioxide and water. Photo: Xinhua

The space agency said the Tiawen-1 orbiter and Zhu Rong rover are still in “good condition”.

Zhang Rongqiao, chief designer of the Tianwen-1 mission, has said China is also working on another mission – likely to be known as Tianwen-2 -to collect rock samples from the red planet and return them to Earth in 2030.

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