The Long March 5 Y-4 rocket, carrying an unmanned Mars probe of the Tianwen-1 mission, takes off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan Province, China July 23, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)
China launched its first Mars probe, the Tianwen-1, on 12:41 Thursday local time, marking another major milestone in the countrys space program.
A Long March-5 Y4 carrier rocket sent Tianwen-1 into its orbit from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in south Chinas Hainan Province. Tianwen-1 aims to complete orbiting, landing and roving all in one mission, and to obtain scientific exploration data on the red planet.
The robotic rover is set to embark on a 5-month space journey before reaching the Martian surface in early 2021. China announced in April that its first Mars exploration mission was named Tianwen-1, meaning "quest for heavenly truth".
Tianwen-1 is one of the most ambitious attempt from the countrys rapidly advanced space program following last years achievement of being the worlds first to land the Change-4 probe, on the far side of the moon.
(Source: Reuters)
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