Tianwen – Spaceflight Now

Nelson cites China’s growing space prowess, calls for sustained NASA funding

May 19, 2021 William Harwood

Holding up a photo taken by China’s new Mars lander, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson warned Congress Wednesday that his agency faces increasingly stiff competition on the high frontier and that sustained funding for a new moon lander, infrastructure upgrades and other critical programs is vital for America’s space program.

China releases first pictures from Zhurong rover since Mars landing

May 19, 2021 Stephen Clark

China’s space agency released the first pictures from the Zhurong Mars rover rover Wednesday, showing the six-wheel robot ready to drive down a ramp from its landing platform to begin exploring the Red Planet.

China lands its first probe on Mars

May 15, 2021 Stephen Clark

China’s space agency said Friday the country’s first Mars rover safely touched down and began sending data back to Earth, joining the United States as the only two nations to successfully land and operate a spacecraft on the surface of the Red Planet.

Chinese rover heads for landing on Mars

May 14, 2021 Stephen Clark

A Chinese rover outfitted with cameras, a weather station, and a sophisticated laser spectrometer could touch down on Mars as soon as Friday, a feat that would make China the second nation to successfully land and operate a spacecraft on the surface of the Red Planet.

China’s Tianwen 1 mission targets mid-May landing on Mars

April 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

China’s Tianwen 1 spacecraft — in orbit around Mars since February — is scheduled to deploy a descent module to attempt the country’s first landing on the Red Planet in mid-May. Officials plan to share the Mars rover’s scientific data with researchers around the world, a senior Chinese scientist said last week.

Spectacular video released from China’s first Mars mission

February 15, 2021 Stephen Clark

China’s space agency has released a pair of spectacular video clips from “selfie” cameras on-board the country’s Tianwen 1 spacecraft as it braked into orbit around Mars on Feb. 10.

China’s first Mars mission enters orbit around Red Planet

February 10, 2021 Stephen Clark

China placed is first spacecraft into orbit around Mars on Wednesday, continuing an international blitz on the Red Planet one day after the arrival of a spacecraft from United Arab Emirates and eight days before the landing of NASA’s Perseverance rover.