A faultless one: China succeeded on Saturday May 15 to land a small remote-controlled robot on the surface of Mars, a first for the Asian country during a particularly delicate mission.

"The Tianwen-1 lander successfully landed in the predefined area" on Mars with the robot "Zhurong" on board, state television CCTV reported, which broadcast a special edition titled "Nihao Huoxing" (Hello Mars ), and specified that a "signal" had been received on Earth. The landing took place in an area of ​​the red planet called "Utopia Planitia", a vast plain located in the northern hemisphere of Mars.

Landing on the Red Planet is far from easy: in the past, many European, Soviet and American missions have failed.

In 2011, China did try to send a probe to Mars, during a joint mission with Russia.

But the attempt had collapsed and Beijing has since resolved to continue the adventure alone.

The Chinese thus launched in July 2020 from Earth their uninhabited mission "Tianwen-1", named after the probe sent into space.

This is made up of three elements: an orbiter (which revolves around Mars), a lander (which has landed on the red planet) and on board a remote-controlled robot, "Zhurong".

In February, "Tianwen-1" had moved into Martian orbit and managed to take pictures of the red planet.

Early Saturday, China managed to land the lander, which should allow the robot "Zhurong" to come out.

Carrying out these three operations during an inaugural mission to Mars is a world first.

Radar, lasers and solar panels

For this first solo attempt, the ambitious Chinese wanted to do everything the Americans have achieved in several Martian missions since the 1960s. 

Weighing around 240 kg, "Zhurong" is to conduct soil and atmosphere analyzes, take photos and map the red planet.

China already has experience in this area: it has rolled two small robots on the Moon, the "Jade Rabbits" 1 and 2 - deposited in 2013 and 2019 respectively. The mission to Mars must also look for possible signs of past life.

"Zhurong" is equipped with solar panels for its power supply and is supposed to be operational for three months.

The robot is also equipped with cameras, radar and lasers which will allow it in particular to study its environment and analyze the composition of Martian rocks.

He arrived on the Red Planet a few months after Perseverance, the rover from NASA, the US space agency, which landed on Mars on February 18 with the mission of looking for proof of past life.

The name "Zhurong" was chosen after an online survey and refers to the god of fire in Chinese mythology.

A symbolism justified by the name in Chinese of Mars: "huoxing", literally "the planet of fire".

All-round space ambitions

China is investing billions of euros in its space program, in order to catch up with Europe, Russia and the United States. It sent its first astronaut into space in 2003. China is also launching satellites for itself or on behalf of other countries. And in 2019, she landed a device on the far side of the Moon - a world first. Last year, samples of the Moon were brought back to Earth.

The Asian giant also plans to assemble a large space station by 2022. And he hopes to send men to the Moon within ten years.

The first of three elements of its space station was launched in late April.

To finalize the construction, China should launch a dozen missions, some of which are manned.

No precise timetable is yet known.

With AFP

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