China's Mars craft enters parking orbit before landing rover

China's Mars craft enters parking orbit before landing rover

3 years ago
Anonymous $rH7oE7DjRg

https://apnews.com/4d6a32e39bdb73d4ec463e98e16f05c0

BEIJING (AP) — China says its Tianwen-1 spacecraft has entered a temporary parking orbit around Mars in anticipation of landing a rover on the red planet in the coming months.

The China National Space Administration said the spacecraft executed a maneuver to adjust its orbit early Wednesday morning Beijing time and will remain in the new orbit for about the next three months before attempting to land. During that time, it will be mapping the surface of Mars and using its cameras and other sensors to collect further data, particularly about its prospective landing site.