Chinese Spacecraft Acquires Images Of The Entire Planet Mars

The Chinese Tianwen-1 successfully arrived on the Red Planet in February 2021 on the country’s inaugural mission there. A robotic rover has since been developed on the surface as an orbiter explored the planet from space. Among the images taken from space were the first photographs of China from the south pole of Mars, where almost all of the planet’s water resources are locked. In 2018, an orbital detector operated by the European Space Agency had discovered water under the ice of the planet’s south pole. Locating groundwater is the key to identifying the planet’s potential for life, as well as providing a permanent resource for any human exploration there. Other Tianwen-1 images include photographs of the 4,000-kilometer (2,485-mile) Valles Marineris Gorge, and mountain-crash craters north of Mars, known as Arabia Terra. Tianwen-1 also sent high-resolution images of the edge of the huge Maunder Crater, as well as a top-down view of the 18,000-meter (59,055-foot) Ascraeus Mons, a large shield volcano first spotted by NASA’s Mariner 9 spaceship more than five decades ago. (Report by Ryan Woo. Edited by Gerry Doyle)

title: “Chinese Spacecraft Acquires Images Of The Entire Planet Mars " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-04” author: “Stacey Schorr”

The Chinese Tianwen-1 successfully arrived on the Red Planet in February 2021 on the country’s inaugural mission there. A robotic rover has since been developed on the surface as an orbiter explored the planet from space. Among the images taken from space were the first photographs of China from the south pole of Mars, where almost all of the planet’s water resources are locked. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register An image of Mars taken by the Chinese unmanned spacecraft Tianwen-1 is shown in this leaflet image released by the National Space Administration of China (CNSA) on June 29, 2022. CNSA / Brochure via REUTERS
read more In 2018, an orbital detector operated by the European Space Agency had discovered water under the ice of the planet’s south pole. read more Locating groundwater is the key to identifying the planet’s potential for life, as well as providing a permanent resource for any human exploration there. Other Tianwen-1 images include photographs of the 4,000-kilometer (2,485-mile) Valles Marineris Gorge, and mountain-crash craters north of Mars, known as Arabia Terra. Tianwen-1 also sent high-resolution images of the edge of the huge Maunder Crater, as well as a top-down view of the 18,000-meter (59,055-foot) Ascraeus Mons, a large shield volcano first spotted by NASA’s Mariner 9 spaceship more than five decades ago. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Ryan Woo. Edited by Gerry Doyle Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.