China's Mars Mission spacecraft , Tianwen-1, captured an astonishing image of the Earth and the Moon days after their launch towards Mars last July 23.
The Chinese National Space Administration or CNSA shared the new and latest image of a crescent Earth and Moon, seemingly smiling to the Chinese rocketship, 1.2 million kilometers away from the home planet.
Tianwen-1, also known as "Questions to Heaven" or "Heavenly Questions", captured a black and white photo of the crescent figures of heavenly bodies using an optical navigation sensor that Chinese News Agency, Xinhuanet, dubs as "watching each other in the vast universe".
Currrently, the spacecraft bound for the Red Planet is 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth, escaping the home planet's gravity, and is on the Earth-Mars transfer orbit already.
China's Mars Journey
The Chinese National Space Administration kept the details of the spacecraft and launch in secret that hugely differs from the likes of United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA that conducts press releases and live launches. Most of the videos circulating about the Tianwen-1's launch came from private video owners who witnessed the launch.
Tianwen-1 is now 10 days on its way in the six to seven month-journey on its way to Mars and is expected to arrive on February 2021. After its initial arrival on the Red Planet, it will stay in-orbit for atleast two months in order to survey potential landing sites using its high-resolution cameras. CNSA expects the spacecraft to land on Mars' surface on May of the same year.
The rover is expected to have atleast 90 Martian days (equating to three Earth months) and the orbiter having a design life of one Martian year (equating to 684 Earth days) with both being released to conduct their own studies and exploration.
China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft's mission is to study planet's morphology and geological structure, soil characteristics and distribution of surface water ice, surface material composition, atmospheric ionosphere and surface climate and environment, and physical field and internal structure. This mission is for the country's scientific advancements and research for their space program.
ALSO READ: China's Ambitious Tianwen-1 Mars Rover Rockets Away From Earth; Will it be Successful?
Race to Space Exploration
With China creating talks and noises in their recent private Martian Mission launch, there are several countries who had launched and are planning to do so, alongside this.
Most notable is United Arab Emirates' Hope Mars Mission that launched earlier in July this year, with the goal of developing the educational and academic sector, steering away from the scientific exploration that most country does.
ALSO READ: [VIDEO] UAE's Historic Launch is Not Just About Human Mission to Mars: All the Details Here
Another would be the long-time space exploration competition of the early ages between the United States and the Soviet Union. It is known that these leaders in the space race have been sending off spacecrafts and rovers to different heavenly bodies like the Moon, Venus, and Mars.
The United States' NASA has also successfully sent their spacecraft named Juno to the gas giant, Jupiter, to orbit and survey the planet, with a new image for Ganymede for the first time.
India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) joined the space race as well, being the first Asian country to successfully send a spacecraft (also the cheapest) to the Red Planet with its Mangalyaan satellite to be in orbit last 2014.
Europe also took part in the space race with several European countries taking part in sending off spacecrafts with surveillance systems such as rovers to various heavenly bodies and planets as part of their space program.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Isaiah Alonzo
