China Youth Daily, Beijing, April 7 (China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Qiu Chenhui) my country’s first Mars exploration mission, Tianwen-1, has circled Mars for nearly two months since it reached its orbit. Why hasn’t it landed?

The reporter learned today from the National Space Administration and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation that the Tianwen-1 probe is currently in orbit on Mars, passing over the Utopia Plain, the preferred landing site for Mars during the orbit, to observe the landing site and launch the pre-landing zone Imaging detection, including environmental conditions such as topography, geology, geomorphology, and whether there are dust storms, will prepare for landing on Mars from May to June.

　　"In case you encounter a place with a steep slope when landing, it will affect the safety of the mission. Therefore, data collection at this stage is very important." Zhao Xiaojin, secretary of the Party Committee of the Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said that Tianwen-1 orbits Mars at this stage. Flying for nearly 3 months, observe and collect relevant data on Mars to determine the exact location of the final landing.

　　Cui Xiaofeng, chief engineer of the first Mars exploration mission of Beijing Space Flight Control Center, said that off-orbit landing is the key to the success of the Mars exploration mission, especially from entering the Martian atmosphere to landing, there is a world-famous "7 minutes of terror".

Among the over 40 Mars exploration missions in the world, only 9 can safely spend these 7 minutes.

Our country has to complete this difficult process in its first Mars exploration mission and allow the rover to continue working on the fire surface for three months. The challenge is unprecedented.

　　"In a space mission, no gram of fuel is wasted, and no decision is meaningless." Cui Xiaofeng said that the current stage of flying around the fire is to help the ground control the high-resolution camera on the orbiter. , Carry out a detailed survey of the preferred landing area and take pictures for imaging.

After multiple rounds of accurate imaging, flight controllers on the earth can see the "footprint" clearly, and then they can better control the Tianwen-1 to accurately land in the ideal area.

　　Source: China Youth Daily