To prepare for China’s first project to Mars, Tianwen-1, the Chinese Academy of Space Technology built a simulation of the Martian landscape on Earth and took the new rover for a test drive.
The Tianwen-1 Mars mission, introduced on the Red Planet in July and destined to land a rover on the surface in April 2021, edited the Martian Bogis ground on a bed at the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) in Beijing, China.
The control site was renovated from a site that was originally used to simulate the lunar surface for the Yutu 1 and Yutu 2 Chinese lunar rovers. The renovated control site comes with sand and stones to mimic the terrain on the Martian surface.
As explained in a CCTV-Plus video, staff used silicon carbides on Earth and washed them with water to make sure they were blank enough to contaminate the rover before it reached Mars.
“On this site, we basically check all the modes of operation [of the rover]. We check the overall operating mode as well as its clutter mode to see how it is solved in case of malfunction. In fact, our “The verification site used to be a test room. The ultimate launch mission,” Jia Yong, an expert at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), said in a video interview.
The Chinese rover on Mars is very similar to the country’s lunar rovers, but larger.
“We want the diversity of the rover. In addition, the environmental situations on the surface of Mars are probably more confusing than the moon. One result we can understand directly through the eyes is that the rover moves sideways, like a crab.” , a feat that the lunar rover could not,” Said Teng Baoyi, DEPUTY chief designer of CCAC, in the CCTV-Plus interview.
In a similar interview with CCTV, Liu Tongjie, deputy director of the Space and Lunar Exploration Program at the National Space Administration of China (CNSA), said the Tianwen-1 project, consisting of an orbiter, lander and rover, is difficult.
The spacecraft is expected to enter orbit on Mars around February 2021. He will then spend two to 3 months inspecting possible landing sites with a high-resolution camera to prepare for landing in May.
The Tianwen-1 orbiter carries seven clinical tools, while the rover carries six.
When the probe arrives in February next year, “we may not let it land on the surface [of Mars] immediately. First, we’ll let you do some initial scans [from orbit], doing some tests and explorations.” . Then we’ll locate a bigger window to make your landing, ” said Liu.
Related: See China Simulate a Landing on Mars (video)
The landing point of the probe carefully selected according to the terrain of Mars.
“From what we have learned so far, the southern hemisphere of Mars is mountainous, while more plains are visible in the northern hemisphere. So we landed on the latter. For now, we have selected the Utopia Planitia,” Liu says.
After landing, the rover will be released for a clinical scan with an expected lifespan of at least 90 Martian days (approximately 3 months on Earth), and the orbiter, with a nominal lifespan of one Martian year (approximately 687 days on Earth). . Array will relay communications for the mobile while performing its own clinical tasks.
As reported through China’s Global Television Network (CGTN), Chinese officials have reported that if the project to retrieve samples of the Tianwen-1 moon and later this year from Chang’e five goes well, China may try to return. Samples from Mars from 2030.
Also this video from Xinhua on the clinical responsibilities of China’s mars project, focused on the composition of the surface of Mars:
Leonard David is from “Moon Rush: The New Space Race” (National Geographic, 2019). David, Space.com editor for a long time, has been reporting on the area industry for more than five decades. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and facebook. This edition of the story was published in Space.com.
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