According to reports, China's Mars orbiter has surveyed the whole red planet. Large craters, canyons, and a volcano are all shown in the spacecraft's images of Mars.
China's Tianwen-1 Orbiter Spacecraft
The entire planet of Mars has been photographed by the Tianwen-1 orbiter spacecraft, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced on Weibo on Wednesday. With the announcement, China also made a few of the orbiter's pictures of the entire Martian surface public, as per Business Insider.
Beautiful photographs of the most interesting features of the red planet have been taken by China's Mars orbiting spacecraft, and they are just a small sampling of its latest image collection.
Space.com reported that in addition to completing the science goals given to the six other scientific instruments on board, the Tianwen 1 orbiter successfully completed the medium-resolution camera's mission to photograph the surface of Mars.
The spacecraft has returned 1,040 gigabytes of raw data to Earth, which China National Space Administration (CNSA) will eventually make available to the general public, according to state media.
As of June 29, Chinese state media stated that the spacecraft had completed more than 1,344 orbits around Mars since entering the planet's orbit in February 2021. A rover was also sent by the orbiter to Mars, where it landed in Utopia Planitia, a massive area of ancient volcanic rock that may have large amounts of water frozen beneath its surface, as per Space.com.
Zhurong Rover
Business Insider mentioned that for the first time on a single trip to Mars that a spacecraft was launched into its orbit, a landing platform was delivered to the planet's surface, and a rover was deployed.
The Zhurong rover and the orbiter, which traveled to Mars with Tianwen 1, have finally finished their intended scientific exploration objectives, according to the CNSA. Business Insider reported that the rover, called Zhurong after the fire god of Chinese mythology, was designed to investigate the area and use ground-penetrating radar to look for water ice.
According to state media, the Zhurong rover went over 2 kilometers before entering hibernation to conserve energy during Mars' extremely cold winter. When Martian spring arrives in December, the rover is anticipated to start up again.
Images Captured By Tianwen 1 Orbiter
The 2,485-mile canyon Valles Marineris on Mars.
China's Mars orbiter captured this top-down view of the 59,055-foot Ascraeus Mons volcano.
More Missions for Tianwen 1 Orbiter and Zhurong Rover Duo
Despite achieving their major goals, Space.com reported that according to CNSA officials, the duo will carry on with their work. Later this year, Tianwen 1 will be employed for an aerobraking test, which involves slowing the spacecraft down using friction from the Martian atmosphere, in order to prepare for Tianwen 3, a complex Mars sample return mission anticipated to begin in 2028.
