China readies massive antenna as Tianwen-1 Mars mission nears orbit around red planet

Asia’s largest single-aperture fully steerable antenna is ready to go into service to communicate with the Tianwen-1 Mars mission deployed by China. The antenna in Tianjin city in northern China has a diameter of 70 metres (230ft). It covers some 4,560 square metres (49,000 sq ft), an area about the size of 10 basketball courts. Chinese officials said on February 3, 2021, that the dish will help collect data from the Tianwen-1 Mars probe when it enters orbit around the red planet on February 10.