The control center of the Chinese space agency in Beijing.
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NEW CHINA / SIPA
There are beginning to be crowded around the planet Mars.
After the Emirati Al-Amal probe, it is the turn of Tianwen-1, the Chinese probe, to successfully enter Martian orbit.
A first for the country, which now aims to land a small robot on the red planet.
"The probe has successfully entered orbit around Mars," the official China New News Agency reported.
The machine was launched in July from the tropical island of Hainan (southern China).
A 240 kilo rover
The Tianwen-1 weighs five tons and features an orbiter, lander, and solar-powered rover that, for three months, will study the planet's soil and atmosphere, take photos, draw maps, and look for signs of life. .
China hopes to land the 240-kilogram rover in May in Utopia, a Mars basin.
Its orbiter will last a Martian year.
This is not China's first attempt to reach Mars.
A previous mission with Russia in 2011 ended prematurely when the launch failed.
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March