By 
August 22nd, 2020
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China’s Tianwen-1 probe en route to Mars will carry out its second orbital correction next month.
The spacecraft was launched on July 23, a probe that is a combination orbiter, lander, and rover and is due to reach the Red Planet around February 2021.
After entering Mars orbit, Tianwen-1 is slated to spend another two to three months surveying candidate landing sites before the orbiter unleashes the lander/rover.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The orbiter’s high definition camera will take photos of the landing zone “in order to confirm if the landing zone is the same as we expected,” Wang Chuang, chief designer of Tianwen-1, stated in a China Central Television (CCTV) interview.
Upon lander touchdown, it may take over a week for the rover to put its wheels on the Martian surface, said Jiasaid Jia Yang, deputy chief designer, Tianwen-1 Mars probe, in a recent CCTV broadcast.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Self-testing
Meanwhile, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Tianwen-1 completed last week self-testing of its scientific instruments, including Mars magnetometer, Mars mineralogy spectrometer and two remote-sensing cameras, which are all working in normal conditions, according to the CNSA.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
According to CNSA, Tianwen-1 will perform four orbital corrections and one deep-space maneuver before reaching Mars. The probe completed its first orbital correction on August 2. The development team said it will proceed with the second orbital correction in September to ensure the probe will be flying accurately toward its target planet.
Go to this CCTV-Plus video detailing the mission at:
Posted in Space News
