"At the beginning of the ancient times, who preached the preaching? The upper and lower parts are not visible, why should they be tested?"
More than two thousand years ago, the poet Qu Yuan looked up at the starry sky in Yuanxiang and turned his full of worries into the famous piece "Heaven Questions", expounding his philosophical thinking on the universe.
More than two thousand years later, China's first Mars exploration mission, the Tianwen-1 probe, was launched at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China on July 23, starting a Mars exploration journey and taking the first step in China's planetary exploration.
Photo courtesy of the Press and Publicity Center of China National Space Administration Photo by Zhang Gaoxiang
From Qu Yuan Wentian to Tianwen No.1, for more than two thousand years, the Chinese people have been pursuing the mysteries of the universe and exploring the origin of life without stopping.
Mars, the red planet known as "Yinghuo" in ancient times, has "traveled with the earth" for a long time. With the advancement of science and technology, human understanding of Mars is constantly being refreshed: Mars is the fourth closest planet to the sun, the size of which is between the earth and the moon; sand dunes and gravel are all over the surface, and the atmosphere is dominated by carbon dioxide, which is both thin and thin. It is cold and the appearance is orange-red; the average equatorial radius is 3398km, the volume is one-seventh of the earth, and the atmosphere is only 1% of the earth...
Source: China Academy of Space Technology
From Qin Shihuang’s worries about the "glorious heart" to Zu Chongzhi's calculation of the five-star rendezvous cycle, this red planet has always attracted people's attention. Throughout the world's space history, humans seem to have a "soft spot" for Mars. The exploration activities of Mars in countries around the world date back to the 1960s. In October 1960, the Soviet Union launched two probes "Mars 1A" and "Mars 1B" to Mars, but they all ended in failure. It was not until October 1964 that the U.S. "Sailor 4" probe sent back to Earth the first close-up image of the surface of Mars in human history, opening a new chapter in Mars exploration.
China's first Mars exploration mission Mars rover. Drawing by Li Guiliang
Although humans have been fascinated by Mars for a long time, fire detection activities can be described as "shocking every step." As of June 2020, countries around the world have carried out more than 40 fire detection activities, but there are only 24 successful and partially successful missions. One by one, probes accumulating human civilization and wisdom have traveled to Mars over hundreds of millions of kilometers, becoming eternal in the vast universe.
Today, China has also joined the queue for fire detection. July-August 2020 coincides with the window period for Mars exploration. This year, China's Tianwen-1 rover, the American "Perseverance" rover and the UAE "Hope" rover will fly to Mars one after another, setting off a new wave of Mars exploration.
Source: China Academy of Space Technology
After launching at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China on July 23, the Tianwen-1 probe will start a 7-month "long-distance trek". After reaching the vicinity of Mars, it will "brake" to capture Mars and enter the ring fire orbit. And choose the opportunity to carry out missions such as landing, patrol, and scientific exploration of Mars. According to the plan, the Tianwen No. 1 mission will complete the three objectives of the "Circumnavigation" mission in one mission. If the mission is successful, this will be the first innovation in the world.
As the planet that is closer to the Earth and has the most similar environment, Mars has always been the first choice for humans to go out of the Earth-Moon system to carry out deep space exploration. As Liu Tongjie, the spokesperson for China’s first Mars exploration mission and deputy director of the China National Space Administration’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, said, Mars is the “sister star” of the Earth. Exploring Mars will help humans better understand the evolution of the planet and the universe. The development of human society brings more frontier knowledge.
Source: China Academy of Space Technology
The vast universe, the sea of stars. From the famous "Tianwen" to the Tianwen No.1 mission, from Qu Yuan's worries to Mars exploration, the Chinese people's long journey of searching for thousands of years has finally come true. In the near future, the Tianwen-1 probe will land on Mars, and China will also open a new "planet exploration era."
Source: China Academy of Space Technology
Source: China News Service
Author: Guo Chaokai