China Set to Be First to Land Mars Rover on First Attempt

BEIJING — China says it’s ready to become the first country to land and operate a rover on Mars on its first attempt.

China’s first ever Mars mission arrived in Mars orbit a few months ago, and is scheduled to release its Mars lander ten days from now. Here are the details:

The Chinese National Space Administration, or CNSA, says its Tianwen-1 orbiter will release its Zhurong Mars rover on 17 May.

The orbiter arrived in Mars orbit on 24 February, carrying with it the rover and its landing cradle.

The lander will detach from the orbiter and start to descend into Mars’ thin atmosphere, protected by a heat shield that’s designed to also slow the lander down with its sheer bluntness.

Once the lander slows down enough, a large parachute will open and the heat shield will fall away, exposing the landing cradle.

The cradle’s landing legs would then deploy and the parachute would detach to let the lander fall freely.

The CNSA says the lander would then fire a number of rockets to slow its descent, while also keeping the lander in an upright position until it touches down.

After touchdown, the lander would deploy a ramp while the rover deploys its sensor arms and solar panels.

If the mission is successful, China would become the first country to land a rover on Mars on its first attempt.

The Zhurong rover is carrying six pieces of scientific equipment. After landing, it would survey the surroundings to study Martian soil, geomorphology and atmosphere. It would also look for signs of subsurface water ice.

[garyhgaryh]

Heard it's happening tomorrow, 5/14. This is exciting, regardless the nation. I wish them luck.

[islandvibez]

Jiayou Zhongguo ☺ World's oldest continous civilization- the only one to have survived long enough into the Space Age and put a Rover on Mars. Jiayou China ☺

[lv]

China now have; a rover on Mars, a rover on the dark side of the Moon 🌒 & a space station main module in space ! Congratulation 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[MrGanbat]

Woo. Good luck further research for China. I hope It is not national security threat to US 🤣🤣🤣. From Mongolia good luck

[gamesjuilianna]

But.... The label on the rover says "Made in China"

[subhrobikashroy]

Aliens on mars be like: run f*cking run..

[lazy]

Does it come with 24hr road side/intergalactic service or some kinda warranty or is this going to be monkey see monkey do .

[mikepeterson]

What happens to ground control crew if this mission fails?

[mdm.]

Why does Thai channel not do a script?

[jwwilliam]

Perseverance: did you see that UFO that just landed in our

Curiosity: UFO...?, no that's AAA. i hit the OnStar button and requested a jump-start...they got here faster than expected. my battery is dead. opportunity and sojourner have the gold star plans and they're getting a tow back to Earth.

[odaktin]

USA was the first to land a rover on their first attempt with Sojourner with Mars Pathfinder.

[jadlong]

It good to do it on you first try But being the first one to find water is better

[jimwu]

"The Dragon has Landed." Quote by Jim Wu 2:52 pm Pacific Daylight Time May 15, 2021.

[pauledwardanthony]

Investing in crypto now should be in every wise individual's life plan, in some months time you'll be ecstatic with the decision you made today.

[Hamsters]

Congratulations China! Also may the space race resume. Its stopped for too long.

[popothebright]

"First attempt". Whatever. Now try it with 1980's technology and no prior data and see how many tries it takes. Silly stat.

[davidmorales]

If it don't make it well you know the it was made in

[davidh]

I wish them luck. Let's hope they copied the American plans properly.

[hipbas]

Newsflash : Covid-Mars variant reeks havoc, Mars in total lockdown.

[JackmeriusTacktheritrix-]

Let’s hope the river isn’t made in china