The trials and triumphs of our missions to Mars
Everything we ve learned from sending spacecraft all the way to the Red Planet An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists. An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists.
Chinaâs rover Zhurong, named after the mythological fire god, successfully touched down on Mars on May 14 â the first time that China has successfully landed a rover on the red planet.
On May 19, Chinaâs National Space Administration issued the first images the rover had taken on Mars.
After a summer of Mars launches in 2020, and with 2021 shaping up to be a successful one for landers and orbiters, it might seem like landing on Mars is routine.
China prepares first cargo launch to new station with Tianzhou 2 nasaspaceflight.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nasaspaceflight.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
China lofts three military Yaogan satellites in Chang Zheng 4C launch
March 12, 2021
China continues to upgrade its oceanic surveillance systems with the launch of three new satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Group 04 of Yaogan Weixing-31 satellites launched at 02:20 UTC on 13 March from launch pad 94 of the LC-43 launch complex on a Chang Zheng 4C rocket.
As usual, Chinese media refer to the new satellites as being used “for electromagnetic environment surveys and other related technology tests,” and the mission is similar to the Yaogan-31 Group 01, Group 02, and Group 03 launched on April 10, 2018 and January 29 and February 24, 2021.
This designation of the Yaogan Weixing series is used to hide the true military nature of the satellites. In this case, the three satellites are orbited in a flying formation like a type of NOSS (Naval Ocean Surveillance System, considered as the Jianbing-8 military series.
China launches Chang Zheng 7A rocket on its Return To Flight mission
March 11, 2021
China has successfully launched the second Chang Zheng 7A (CZ-7A) rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Hainan Island, thus recovering from the first failed launch that took place almost one year ago. Carrying the mysterious Shiyan 9/Xinjishu Yanzheng-6-02 satellite, liftoff took place at 17:51 UTC on 11 March from the LC-201 launch complex.
The Chang Zheng 7A represents a new step in replacing the older families of hypergolic fuelled launchers that have been the workhorse of the Chinese space program since its inception in the 1960s.