Scientific observation
Mars exploration has just taken the "first step in the Long March"
Not surprisingly, the first Mars exploration mission made China the focus of the world's attention. On July 23, the Tianwen-1 was successfully launched. The most anticipated China aerospace drama of 2020 kicked off, welcoming overwhelming reports at home and abroad. In the face of these, we should be more sober while cheering and excited.
The successful launch was only a phased success. It had just completed the "First Step of the Long March" of China's Mars exploration journey. Later, we still have a long journey of about 7 months, as well as many difficult levels such as "brake", "surround", "landing" and "landing". It can be said that "the road is long and long" and "steps startling". If you are not careful, you may fall short.
For decades, the global Mars exploration success rate has been less than 50%. The Soviet Union conducted nearly 20 detection missions between 1960 and 1988, but none of them were completely successful. After the 1990s, the success rate reached about two-thirds. The difficulty is evident. Before the final success is achieved, it may be a good choice to stay calm and be a quiet "Tianwen" fan, to learn more about the difficulties and knowledge of fire detection.
We are latecomers on the road to Mars exploration. As early as the 1960s, the Soviet Union and the United States took the lead in exploring Mars, and it has been more than half a century. Later, Japan and Europe joined the ranks one after another. In 2013, even India, our neighbor in the ranks of developing countries, launched its first Mars rover and successfully entered Mars orbit.
In July 2020, we attempted to fly to Mars autonomously for the first time. We plan to complete three Mars exploration tasks at one time, including orbiting, landing, and patrolling. This is indeed what other countries failed to achieve when they first implemented Mars exploration missions. However, today, decades later, with the advantage of being a latecomer in science and technology, it is not easy for China to do so, but it is reasonable. After all, in the field of deep space exploration, we are still in the catching-up stage. And running hard is a necessary posture for us as latecomers.
China's first Mars exploration mission was established in 2016, and it has only been 6 years since the development in the early stage of 2014. After more than 2,000 days of hard work, many young astronauts had their black hair turned into white hair, and "juveniles" became "uncles". The dense hair that was once full of hair is now sparsely peaked. The new crown pneumonia epidemic was raging, and it failed to stop them from going to the front line of the launch. The reason for doing this is to take back the time that China once lost!
On the occasion of the successful launch of Tianwen-1, the United States, a veteran fire-detecting power, has set its sights on "manned fire". The Perseverance, which will be launched soon, is exploring the way for this. While we were running hard, others did not stop.
The ancients have said: "Human learning should not be self-inflicted and arrogant." When we face the gap, we will not be arrogant and pursue excellence, and we will not be arrogant. Being in such a historical coordinate system, and then reviewing China's first Mars exploration mission, may be more helpful for China's space travel to stabilize and reach a long distance.
So, how should we view the significance of this mission?
Zhang Rongqiao, the chief designer of China’s first Mars exploration mission project, was asked a similar question. His answer was unexpectedly "short": "What are we going to do on Mars? First, solve the reachability. The Chinese people's footsteps in the universe, the farther and farther they go. it is good!"
Previously, the Chinese people's space exploration range was limited to the Earth and its natural satellite, the moon. Although we launched hundreds of artificial satellites into the earth's orbit, "Chang'e" and "Jade Rabbit" also visited the moon twice. The place involved is still within hundreds of thousands of kilometers from the earth. How is the outside world? Those planets with the same "status" as the earth-such as Mars, do they have water and life? We can only understand from the "public results" that other countries have detected decades ago.
The world is so big, everyone wants to see it, but not everyone can achieve this. Academician Ye Peijian, a people’s scientist, once made an impressive metaphor: "The universe is an ocean, the moon is the Diaoyu Island, and Mars is the Huangyan Island. We can go now, and future generations will blame us. If others go, others will occupy them. Once you’re down, you can’t go anymore."
Today, China has its own Mars rover. This is not just the first trip of the Chinese to explore Mars. With this as a starting point, we have also taken the first step towards planetary exploration and the realization of the dream of “Nine-day Stars”. Mankind knows this red planet, knows the earth, knows the universe and contributes to Chinese wisdom.
More importantly, this is bound to set off a "Martian fever" in China, attracting more post-00s and post-ten generations to "open their eyes", dreaming and obsessing about becoming the "generation of Martian immigrants" and "the generation looking up at the stars." Only when a nation has some people who pay attention to the stars, there is hope.
Now, Tianwen-1 is on its way to Mars. On this road, more than half of the human probes smashed into the sand, and the successful ones showed a strange and colorful picture of Mars for humans. Looking forward, the Mars messenger from China will be the next winner.
Qiu Chenhui Source: China Youth Daily