China managed to land on Mars on the first attempt, and the Xhurong rover is already safely on the surface of Mars. The country is the second country after the United States to have a ground mission on Mars.
Again, everything was done without prior public communication or live broadcast. And it happened about 4 hours earlier than originally expected. Chinese style.
The 240 kg solar-powered rover landed shortly after 8 p.m. (Brazilian time) in a module equipped with retro propellers. The descent took place as planned in Utopia Planitia with the help of parachutes about eight minutes after entering the atmosphere.
The location was chosen to combine the mission’s scientific interest – looking for signs of life on Mars – and the technical requirements. It is a relatively flat place with a low altitude that makes optimal use of the atmosphere to brake safely.
NASA’s Viking 2 spacecraft landed there in 1976. Incidentally, to date only the United States has managed to operate probes on the surface of Mars.
The Russians successfully landed with the Mars 3 landing module in 1971, but it crashed 20 seconds after the descent. The British also hit the post with the Beagle-2 module, which reached the Martian surface intact in 2003 but was unable to open its solar panels and make contact with Earth.
Now the preparations begin so that the vehicle can move across the ground and begin a mission with an initial duration of 90 suns.
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