On 20021May 15, the landing team of Tian Wen-1 Mars probe successfully landed on the surface of Mars, and China became the third country in the world to successfully land on Mars after the Soviet Union and the United States. Since then, Tian Wen-1 orbiter and Zhu Rong rover have successively carried out a series of work according to the predetermined plan, and sent relevant images and images back to Earth. With the help of these images and videos, we have a more intuitive understanding of Tian Wen-1' s trip to Mars and have a deeper understanding of this red planet.
The combination of Tian Wen 1 orbiter and landing patrol weighs about 5 tons, and the landing patrol includes landing platform and rover. Orbiter weighs about 3 175 kg, lander weighs about 1585 kg, and Zhu Rong lunar rover weighs about 240 kg. Zhu Rong is a six-wheel drive rover and the first one with active suspension design. It is1.85m high, 3.3m long and 3.2m wide, equipped with four solar panels, with a sailing speed of 40m/h, a maximum speed of 200m/h, an obstacle-crossing height of 30cm, a climbing angle of 30 and a design life of 90 Mars days.
On June 7th, the high-scoring image map of the landing area of the No.1 mission was officially released, and the situation of the No.1 landing platform, the Zhu Rong Rover and the surrounding areas were clearly visible in the image. This picture was taken on June 2nd18th by the high-resolution camera of Tian Wen-1 Surrounder. The resolution of the surface of Mars photographed by this camera can reach 0.7m/ pixel. Telemetry data show that the combined landing position of Tianwen-1 landing investigation team is only 3 kilometers away from the original landing position, and the precise landing has been completed. At present, all seven scientific payloads carried on the Tianwen-1 orbiter have been opened for detection.
On June 1 1, the National Space Administration released the first batch of scientific images of the Tian Wen-1 probe after landing on Mars, including the panoramic view of the landing site, the landform of Mars, the "China Seal" and the "taking photos when landing", which also marked the complete success of China's first Mars exploration mission.
On June 27th, the National Space Administration released a series of real-life images of Tianwen-1 Mars exploration mission, including the descending process of the landing team's parachute, the sound of the Zhu Rong rover leaving the landing platform and the video of the surface movement of Mars, the global environmental perception image of Mars, the rutting image of the rover and so on.
According to the contents published by the National Space Administration, we can sort out a timeline and briefly restore a series of important progress and achievements of the landing team in the 40 days after Tian Wen-1 successfully landed on Mars.
High-score image map of the landing area of Tian Wen-1 mission (left before landing and right after landing) (National Space Administration/map)
During the landing, Tian Wen-1 will experience "eight minutes of death", that is, the probe will experience three deceleration stages in the Martian atmosphere in about eight minutes, and finally land on the surface of Mars. Because the earth and Mars are far away, it is impossible to communicate in real time. Therefore, this series of deceleration process needs the detector to complete independently, which is technically difficult. Only NASA has successfully achieved a soft landing on Mars before. On May 65438+May 5, Tian Wen-1 landed on the surface of Mars successfully, and China landed on Mars successfully for the first time. According to the images released by the National Space Administration, during the landing of Mars, Tian Wen-1' s landing team carried a camera to monitor the parachute opening process, a camera to monitor the fire falling state and an obstacle avoidance camera, and recorded the parachute jumping, parachute throwing, power deceleration and obstacle avoidance processes respectively. These images help researchers understand the details of the landing process and lay a solid foundation for the subsequent Mars exploration.
On May 22, Zhu Rong left the landing platform safely, reached the surface of Mars and began to patrol and detect. The front and rear obstacle avoidance cameras of the rover recorded the departure process, and the recording device obtained the sound data of the departure process, including the sound of the collision between the wheels of the rover and the ladder and the sound of the motor working. Through these sounds, researchers can analyze the Martian environment, including the atmospheric density of Mars, and have a more comprehensive understanding of the Martian environment.
As of June 5th, all six scientific load devices carried by Zhu Rong were turned on, including navigation and terrain camera, multi-spectral camera, underground detection radar, surface composition detector, surface magnetic field detector and Mars weather station. Among them, the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Detector (LIBS) in the surface composition detector can detect more than ten elements such as silicon, magnesium, oxygen, hydrogen and manganese in the target, which is the first time that this technology has been used in deep space exploration in China.
On June 16, the rover carried out global environmental perception, planned the path for the follow-up scientific exploration, and photographed the clear rut of the rover through the rear obstacle avoidance camera.
By 20: 00 on July 1 1, the orbiter and the rover were in good working condition. Tian Wen 1 orbiter has been in orbit for 353 days, with a distance of 370.7 million kilometers. The Zhu Rong rover has been working on the surface of Mars for 57 Mars days, with a cumulative driving distance of 410.025m.. During the patrol and detection of the rover, the orbiter will stay in the communication relay orbit for about 8.2 hours, 265 kilometers near the fire point and 12500 kilometers away from the fire point, transmitting information and data for the rover and the earth.
Rutting map of rover (NASA/map)
On June 12, NASA held a press conference in Beijing to introduce China's first Mars exploration mission. Xu Hongliang, Secretary-General of the National Space Administration, introduced China's space development plan during the Tenth Five-Year Plan and the next period. He said that China's planetary exploration project will take into account the needs of engineering technology development and hot scientific research. By 2030, with Mars exploration as the key and main line, it will be carried out according to the route of "one step around the patrol and two steps to complete the sampling and return". The first Mars exploration mission has successfully completed the set goal of the first step, and the next step is to implement the Mars sampling return mission in 2028.
According to the news released by the National Space Administration, the rover will continue to carry out maneuvering, sensing and scientific detection as planned, and the circulator will continue to run in the relay orbit, providing relay communication for the patrol detection of the rover and carrying out peripheral detection. Although Zhu Rong's design life is 90 Mars days, considering that the design life of NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers is also 90 Mars days, and the actual working hours are 5 years and 14 years respectively, Zhu Rong's working hours can be extended according to the actual situation. Tianwen-1 orbiter is planned to carry out scientific observation in 1 Mars year (about 1.88 Earth year). Therefore, in the future, we will continue to receive news from Tian Wen-1 on Mars and witness Zhu Rong's roaming on Mars.
Southern Weekend Special Contributor Ju Qiang