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24.01.23 03:34
Legendary ship captain shares his memories of breaking Soviet news blackout during tragic January 1990
11.11.20 05:06
Ilham Aliyev addressed the nation
06.11.20 16:59
President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by Spanish EFE news agency
04.11.20 14:53
President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by Italian La Repubblica newspaper
01.11.20 02:40
President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by German ARD TV channel
30.10.20 21:00
President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by Russian Interfax agency
27.10.20 22:45
President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by Italian Rai 1 TV channel
27.10.20 22:32
Ilham Aliyev addressed the nation
26.10.20 03:17
President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by U.S. Fox News TV channel
24.10.20 22:22
President Ilham Aliyev gave interview to French Le Figaro newspaper
20.10.20 22:48
President Ilham Aliyev addressed the nation
15.10.20 23:17
Azerbaijan Republic State Security Service cautioned about Armenian terror
11.10.20 15:12
President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by Russian RBC TV channel
10.10.20 09:33
Azerbaijani, Russian, Armenian FMs make joint statement
10.10.20 00:54
President Ilham Aliyev addressed the nation
07.10.20 01:37
President Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by TRT Haber TV channel
05.10.20 21:16
Mehriban Aliyeva: «Each of us is obliged to do our best to bring the moment of the Great Victory closer»
04.10.20 23:02
President Ilham Aliyev addressed the nation
03.10.20 22:52
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev: «Azerbaijani Army raised Azerbaijani flag in Madagiz»
03.10.20 13:25
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by Al Jazeera TV channel
02.10.20 21:22
Hikmet Hajiyev: «Armenian leadership tries to intimidate people with photoshops»
02.10.20 17:44
Two years after Khashoggi’s murder, a Saudi opposition forms
02.10.20 11:01
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump test positive for Covid-19
02.10.20 09:40
Operational information of the Ministry of Defense
02.10.20 09:09
Turkey: Permanent peace possible if Armenia leaves Azerbaijan territories
02.10.20 08:43
Are PKK-linked terrorists fighting alongside Armenia in occupied-Karabakh?
02.10.20 00:17
Armenian president officially admits violation of international law - Turkish government
30.09.20 23:32
Presidential debate: How the world's media reacted
30.09.20 23:18
The Ministry of Defense addressed volunteers who want to join the fighting
29.09.20 02:50
Turkish parties condemn Armenian attack on Azerbaijan
28.09.20 13:12
Abdullah Abdullah begins Pakistan visit
28.09.20 10:53
The Armenian side is trying to conceal its losses by spreading misinformation
28.09.20 10:48
President Ilham Aliyev appealed to Azerbaijani people
27.07.20 16:04
Lapid calls on Netanyahu to fire Public Security Minister Amir Ohana
27.07.20 15:16
Kazakhstan to Establish National Emergency Stabilization Fund for Essential Medicines
China Mars mission: rocket successfully launches country's first independent mission to another planet
26 July [12:43] World Science



China has successfully launched its first independent mission to another planet, sending a rover to Mars.

The country’s space agency became one of three countries, alongside the UAE and US, to use a helpful launch window to jet off to the red planet and hope to demonstrate their technological capabilities.

The lander was carried by China’s biggest rocket, the Long March 5 Y-4, when it blasted off early in the morning UK time from Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan.

The probe is expected to reach Mars in February where it will attempt to deploy a rover to explore the planet for 90 days.

If successful, the Tianwen-1, or “Questions to Heaven”, which is the name of a poem written two millennia ago, will make China the first country to orbit, land and deploy a rover in its inaugural mission.

It is the first time that China has independently launched a mission to another planet, with its previous attempt in 2011 relying on a Russian rocket. That mission also did not make it to the red planet, failing to escape Earth’s orbit.

There will be challenges ahead as the craft nears Mars, Liu Tongjie, spokesperson for the mission, told reporters ahead of the launch.

“When arriving in the vicinity of Mars, it is very critical to decelerate,” he said.

“If the deceleration process is not right, or if flight precision is not sufficient, the probe would not be captured by Mars,” he said, referring to gravity on Mars taking the craft down to the surface.

Mr Liu said the new probe would orbit Mars for about two and a half months and look for an opportunity to enter its atmosphere and make a soft landing.

“Entering, deceleration and landing (EDL) is a very difficult [process]. We believe China’s EDL process can still be successful, and the spacecraft can land safely,” Mr Liu said.

Eight spacecraft – American, European and Indian – are either orbiting Mars or on its surface with other missions underway or planned.

The United Arab Emirates launched a mission to Mars on Monday, an orbiter that will study the planet’s atmosphere.

The United States has plans to send a probe in coming months that will deploy a rover called Perseverance, the biggest, heaviest, most advanced vehicle sent to the Red Planet by Nasa.

China’s probe will carry several scientific instruments to observe the planet’s atmosphere and surface, searching for signs of water and ice.

China previously made a Mars bid in 2011 with Russia, but the Russian spacecraft carrying the probe failed to exit the Earth’s orbit and disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean.

A fourth planned launch for Mars, the EU-Russian ExoMars, was postponed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic and technical issues.

Sourceindependent.co.uk