Since Curiosity reached Mars nearly a decade ago, we are
used to the Martian rovers snapping the random selfie through movable arms and cunning
digital stitching. The condition is different for orbiters neighboring the Red
Planet. But the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) has just confirmed
that there’s scope to snap the orbiters as well.
Tianwen-1, the orbiter that successfully brought the Zhurong
rover to Mars, and is still orbiting Mars released a small camera device. This
snapped an incredible "selfie" of Tianwen-1, using Wi-Fi to send it
back to the orbiter, which then forward it to Earth.
The image shows the golden spacecraft with its antennae and
solar panels in full view. Behind it, the majesty of the Red Planet with a
partial view of the Martian northern ice cap. It's not the first time the
orbiter has used a deployable camera to get a picture. It also did that in deep
space, on the way to Mars. However, it can’t compare to the latest one given
the fantastic background.
This close-up shot shows Tianwen 1 right above the Martina North Pole. Image credit: CNSA
The Tianwen-1 mission is a three-in-one mission with a
lander and the rover exploring the surface of Mars since last May. Zhurong also
used a deployable wireless camera to take adorable photos of itself and the
lander. The orbiter portion of Tianwen-1 is designed to study the visible
geology of Mars from high above the planet and precisely measure Mars’ weak
magnetic field.
In its suit of instruments, there is a high-resolution
camera that can snap images where objects about 2 meters (6.6 feet) can be
resolved. This may not be as good as NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's
HiRISE, but it's still incredible. Tianwen-1 started its orbit further away
than the NASA orbiter, getting to 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the ground on
its closest approach, but it changed it in November.
Tianwen-1 now gets as close as 256 kilometers (165 miles)
and as far as 10,700 kilometers (6,500 miles) in its 7 hours and 5 minutes
orbit around the Red Planet. The new celestial path allows the orbiter to start
working on its scientific goals as well as continue receiving data from
Zhurong, who continues to work well beyond its 90 days expected mission.
The name of the mission, Tianwen, comes from an ancient
Chinese poem written by Qu Yuan (~340-278 BCE). It translates as “Questions to
the Heavens”, a fitting name for a mission that will provide new insights into
Mars and hopefully answer some of the many ongoing mysteries that still remain
to be understood.
References:
https://www.iflscience.com/space/chinese-orbiter-snaps-awesome-selfie-with-mars-like-never-before/
https://www.space.com/china-tianwen-1-mars-orbiter-amazing-selfies-photos
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