One of them shows the moment when the lander's parachute opens
BEIJING, June 27. /TASS/. The Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA) has published four new videos of the Tianwen-1 mission on Mars. The videos were posted on Sunday on the official website of the Central Television of China.
The first video, lasting 23 seconds, was shot on May 15 during the landing of the Chinese Tianwen-1 spacecraft on the surface of Mars, it shows the moment when the lander's parachute opens. The second video, 30 seconds long, was shot on June 22, it demonstrates how the Chinese Zhuzhong rover descends from the landing platform and begins to explore the surface of the planet.
The third and fourth videos, lasting 12 and six seconds, respectively, were filmed on June 1, they capture the movement of the rover on the surface of the Red Planet and the moment when Zhuzhong takes a "selfie" next to the lander. The photo was published on June 11. As CNSA previously reported, to take this picture, the rover had to move about 10 m south of the landing platform, leave the camera on the surface and return to its starting position.
According to the Chinese National Space Administration, by June 27, the Zhuzhong rover had worked on the surface of the planet for 42 Martian days (one Earth day and 37 minutes). During this time, he overcame 236 m.
The automatic interplanetary station "Tianwen-1" made a successful landing on the surface of the planet on May 15, which became the first landing of a Chinese spacecraft on Mars. The Zhuzhong rover, which is part of it, will study the soil, the ionosphere and the climate of the planet. The period of operation of the rover on the surface of the planet will be 92 earth days.
The Tianwen-1 station was launched on July 23, 2020 with the help of a Changzheng-5 launch vehicle from the Wenchang Cosmodrome, located in the South Chinese province of Hainan. In February, the station reached the orbit of Mars.