China’s Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter has produced video selfies as it circles the Red Planet.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released the videos on Monday.
One shows a glimpse of the Martian north polar ice cap captured by the orbiter, also recording the process of the orbiter adjusting its solar panels.
The second footage records the entire process of how the connecting bar between the orbiter body and the camera is unfolding. The selfie stick is over 5 feet (1.6 meters) long when unfolded. This ultra-light bar weighs only 0.8 kilograms and is made of shape memory composite that can unfold itself at a certain temperature.
One-year anniversary
As noted by China Central Television (CCTV), the permanent caps at both Martian poles consist primarily of water ice. Frozen carbon dioxide accumulates as a comparatively thin layer about one meter thick on the north cap in the northern winter.
The Tianwen-1 Mars probe, as of Monday, has been working in space for 557 days. Its one-year anniversary is coming up; the craft reached Mars orbit on February 10, 2021.
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