"Tianwen One" first deep-space "selfie"

  The five-star red flag on the probe that has flown 188 million kilometers away from the earth 24.1 million kilometers is specially developed

  Yesterday, on the occasion of the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, the National Space Administration released the flight images of my country’s first Mars exploration mission "Tianwen-1". The picture shows the silver landing patrol and gold orbiter flying in the vast universe. Shining, the five-star red flag is even more dazzling.

On October 1, the China National Space Administration released the flight images of China's first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 probe. The five-star red flag on the map is dazzling, showing a bright Chinese red.

This is the first deep-space “self-portrait” of China's Tianwen-1 probe.

The picture shows the Tianwen-1 detector.

China News Agency issued photos courtesy of China National Space Administration

  This is the first deep-space “self-portrait” of “Tianwen No. 1”, in order to express peace to the motherland and send birthday wishes.

  The five-star red flag on the detector was also specially designed and developed for this mission.

The size of the five-star red flag is about 39 cm x 26 cm, which is slightly smaller than a piece of A3 paper and weighs 144 grams. The pattern is sprayed with special materials and a special overprinting process.

In order to ensure that the pattern remains bright and intact even after being tested in the harsh environment of space, the national flag was finally installed on the side of the detector after undergoing multiple tests such as irradiation, high and low temperature alternation, low temperature storage, and adhesion loss.

  The "Tianwen-1" probe was successfully launched on July 23. It was directly sent to the ground fire transfer orbit by the Long March 5 carrier rocket. During the flight, the ground-moon photo acquisition, two midway corrections of the orbit, and payload self-check were successfully completed. jobs.

As of the early morning of October 1, the probe has flown 188 million kilometers, 24.1 million kilometers from the earth, and the flight is in good condition.

Text/Reporter Lei Jia

Related

Selection of the third batch of preliminary astronauts in my country completed

  Xinhua News Agency reported that the selection of the third batch of preliminary astronauts for my country’s manned space project ended a few days ago. A total of 18 preliminary astronauts (including 1 female) were finally selected, including 7 space pilots, 7 space flight engineers and 4 payloads. expert.

They will become new members of our astronaut team and embark on a new journey to build a space power and continue the dream of flying.

  According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, in order to meet the needs of my country's space station engineering missions, the third batch of reserve astronauts have added two categories of space flight engineers and load specialists based on space pilots.

Space pilots and space flight engineers are mainly responsible for direct manipulation and management of the spacecraft, as well as conducting related technical tests.

Load experts are mainly responsible for the on-orbit operation of space science experimental loads.

Aerospace pilots are selected from the active service pilots of the Air Force, aerospace flight engineers are selected from engineering and technical personnel engaged in aerospace engineering and related fields, and load experts are selected from scientific researchers in the field of manned aerospace engineering and space science research and application.

  The selection of the third batch of reserve astronauts was launched in May 2018, and went through three stages: primary selection, re-election, and final selection.

Eighteen qualified astronauts are selected from about 2500 candidates. After systematic training, they will participate in various missions during the operation phase of the space station.

The picture shows the Tianwen-1 detector.

China News Agency issued photos courtesy of China National Space Administration

Dispel doubts

How to shoot in space?

  Since the establishment of the first independent Mars exploration mission in my country, how to do a good job in visual monitoring of the working status of the Mars rover in orbit has become one of the important tasks facing the development team.

In order to obtain the full picture of the "Tianwen No. 1" in the process of rushing to the fire, the Mars Orbiter Engineering Measurement Sub-system Team of the Eighth Academy specially designed a set of "little guys" with "small quality, small size and low energy consumption". "Composed of monitoring system.

  When taking selfies on the ground, people can use auxiliary tools such as selfie sticks to shoot after choosing the angle, light and shadow, but the self-portrait of Tianwen No.1 is not that simple.

  Experts told reporters that due to its large size, if the selfie stick strategy is adopted, "Tianwen No.1" needs to use a 15-meter-long selfie stick to achieve full-view selfies, which not only consumes resources, but is also prone to safety risks.

  To this end, the Mars Orbiter Engineering Measurement Sub-system Team of the Eighth Academy of Sciences proposed a "separated monitoring plan", which is to "throw out" a light camera under suitable lighting conditions to take pictures of "Tianwen No. 1" and transmit the images in real time. Go back to the "Tianwen No. 1" probe.

How to realize the "separated monitoring program"?

  In order to successfully realize the "separated monitoring program", the Mars Orbiter Engineering Measurement Sub-system Team of the Eighth Academy needs a "little guy" who can "divide, shoot clearly, pass back, and persist": adopt light, small, low The impact unlocking and separating device makes the camera "distinguishable"; the use of color imaging, the configuration of the 800×600, 1600×1200 two-level resolution camera allows the image to be "clearly captured"; the use of ultra-strong WiFi that can achieve 400 meters of wireless communication Communication allows data to be "passed back"; the use of disposable batteries that can provide power for longer than one hour allows the camera to "hold on", allowing the ground to see the full picture of the "Tianwen No. 1" rushing into flames.

  Considering that the camera may turn over as it gradually moves away from the detector, the development team designed the camera as a dual-camera to ensure that the camera can also capture as many detector images as possible during the turning process.

After 4 years of research and development, this "little guy" with a total weight of about 950 grams successfully carried the "Tianwen 1" Mars probe into space and successfully separated the camera weighing about 680 grams, and gained clarity. The image of “Tianwen No. 1” was successfully completed.

How to develop the national flag on the detector?

  As an important part of the Mars Orbiter Engineering Survey Sub-system of the Eighth Academy, the national flag on the "Tianwen-1" Mars rover was specially designed and developed for the mission.

The size of the national flag used in this mission is about 39 cm x 26 cm, slightly smaller than a piece of A3 paper, and weighs only 144 grams.

  According to experts, in order to reduce weight as much as possible and ensure flatness, the flag pattern is sprayed on an aluminum plate with special pigments through a special overprinting process.

In order to ensure that it can still be bright and intact after the harsh environment of space, the national flag is finally installed on the side of the detector after undergoing multiple tests such as irradiation, high and low temperature alternation, and low temperature storage.

  At present, the Mars Orbiter Engineering Survey Sub-system of the Eighth Academy has successfully completed a number of tasks including solar wing deployment, directional antenna deployment, and probe selfies.

In the following ground fire transfer flight, the Eighth Academy Mars Orbiter Engineering Survey Sub-system will continue to carry out missions to regularly visually monitor the operation of the solar wing and directional antenna, and continue to detect fire for "Tianwen No. 1" Escort the journey.