Nirmal Yesoda
In an attempt to emerge as a winner in the space race, China is all set to launch its Tianwen-1 Mars rover to the Red Planet. According to reports, the historic launch will take place in late July or early August. An official announcement regarding the finalization of the launch date is expected to be unveiled in the coming days. However, citing unofficial reports, Space.com reports that the upcoming launch will take place on July 23.
It should be noted that this will be the first rover from China that will land on Mars, and with this move, the country plans to join the elite league of countries that had landed on Mars. As of now, only the United States and the Soviet Union had succeeded in landing their rovers on Mars.
Tianwen means ‘question to heaven’ in the Chinese language, and it is also the name of a poem written by Chinese poet Qu Yuan.
“The Tianwen-1 probe, with a mass (including fuel) of about 5 tonnes, comprises an orbiter and a lander/rover composite. The orbiter will provide a relay communication link to the rover, while performing its own scientific observations for one Martian year,” said the mission chief scientist in a report published in the Journal Nature Astronomy.
Recently, several studies had suggested that Mars once had the right conditions to host life. Some studies even hinted that Mars once had a healthy river system, where liquid water flowed across the surface of the Red Planet. Several space scientists believe that this upcoming Chinese mission could shed light on possible alien life that might have thrived on Mars in the ancient days.
