Chinese Probe Sends Back Its First Picture of Mars (theguardian.com) 19
Launched in July, China's probe "Tianwen-1" is now approaching an orbit around Mars — and it's sent back its first picture. Slashdot reader AmiMoJo spotted this report in the Guardian:
The photo released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) shows geological features including the Schiaparelli crater and the Valles Marineris, a vast stretch of canyons on the Martian surface. The photo was taken from about 1.4m miles away (2.2m kilometres), said the CNSA, with the spacecraft since reaching 1.1 million kilometres from the planet...
The five-tonne Tianwen-1 includes a Mars orbiter, lander, and a rover that will study the planet's soil. China hopes to land the rover in May in Utopia, a massive impact basin...
China has poured billions of dollars into its military-led space programme and first sent a human into space in 2003. It is aiming to assemble a space station in Earth orbit by 2022.
The five-tonne Tianwen-1 includes a Mars orbiter, lander, and a rover that will study the planet's soil. China hopes to land the rover in May in Utopia, a massive impact basin...
China has poured billions of dollars into its military-led space programme and first sent a human into space in 2003. It is aiming to assemble a space station in Earth orbit by 2022.
Boost me up. (Score:3)
China has poured billions of dollars into its military-led space programme and first sent a human into space in 2003. It is aiming to assemble a space station in Earth orbit by 2022.
Their version of Skylab.
Re: (Score:1)
Don't worry, Donald Trump will stop them.
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It will probably last longer than Skylab. The design is modular and expandable, and benefits from decades of experience.
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Skylab was recycled bits from the Apollo program. It was impressively large inside and IIRC may have had the biggest single "room" in any space station thus far (but probably not the greatest enclosed volume, as I suspect the ISS has long since surpassed it). It's a shame we couldn't stick with it. I don't think the Chinese station will look anything like Skylab because they aren't using recycled Moon rocket technology. It will probably be comparatively cramped inside, like the ISS.
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Why copy Skylab when there was Salyut 1?
Skylab [Re:Boost me up.] (Score:2)
Why copy Skylab when there was Salyut 1?
Salyut 1, launched 1971, had a pressurized volume of 99 m^3.
Skylab, launched 1973, had a pressurized volume of 361 m^3.
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They're Chinese. They don't need all that room.
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They're Chinese. They don't need all that room.
If Skylab was it Kowloon, it would be divided into a dozen apartments.
Near (Score:4, Interesting)
Tianwen-1 is due to enter Mars orbit in 4 days, assuming they don't pull a Lockheed [wikipedia.org].
Ok ok, I'm being mean to Lockheed. The majority of missions to Mars have failed [space.com] since humanity started trying, with a nearly 70% failure rate. That includes China's first attempt, in partnership with Russia in 2011, which never left Earth orbit due to engine failure. Hopefully China has learned enough from their successful Lunar landers to achieve Mars orbit, and an eventual landing with their Mars lander.
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But... NASA missions have had 16 successes out of 22 tries (73%); while all the other nations together have a success rate of 29%. NASA seems to be doing something right.
Worst record to date is Russia (including the Soviet Union), with a success rate of 0. (But, to give the Soviets credit, they had a spectacularly good successes with Venus probes).
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Actually the best record so far is India, with 100% success in their single Mars mission, Mangalyaan (they're also the only space agency to achieve Mars orbit on their first try). It was launched in late 2013 and achieved orbit in September of the following year, and is still functioning. Although criticized for its cost at $73 million dollars it is the least expensive Mars mission to date, an Indian steel magnate that same year spent over $100 million on his daughter's wedding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi [wikipedia.org]
Mars Grand Prix (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, I don't think I'll see a real Flying Car or Cold Fusion in my lifetime . . . but at least I'll be able to see a drag race of the American rover vs. the Chinese rover.
The Americans and the Chinese should arrange this for the good PR. It would get school kids interested in building racing rovers!
1.4m miles is milli-miles (Score:2)
Re: 1.4m miles is milli-miles (Score:1)
Google Images (Score:1)
Congratulations (Score:3)
Impact basin? (Score:2)
China hopes to land the rover in May in Utopia, a massive impact basin...
What could possibly go wrong?