“7 Minutes of terror” ; China aims to achieve orbiting on Mars in a single mission

China may shortly become just the third nation to reliably move down on the surface of Mars. According to Chinese space watchers, the China National Space Administration will strive to settle its rover Zhurong on the red planet, enduring the so-called “seven minutes of terror” experienced by Martian exploration robots.

The formidable Tianwen-1 mission to Mars launched in July 2020 and comprises three spacecraft: an orbiter, which is now orbiting Mars, a lander, and a rover. This is China’s initial mission to Mars, and settling on the planet is a complex task, only around half of the voyages to the planet have established successful, and no agency besides NASA has landed on the surface since 1973.

China has been comparatively calm about when we can foresee the entry, descent, and landing to start, but reports imply it will occur at 4:11 p.m. PT (11:11 p.m. UTC) on May 14. The lander and rover are presently encased within a shielding case but will separate from the orbiter earlier and start to direct toward the surface. When it hits the Martian atmosphere, approximately seven minutes of terror starts. The lander-rover pair will crash into the thin atmosphere, safely tucked within a heat shield. Once the spacecraft hits through, the heat shield will fall away and a parachute will be extended to regulate the vehicle down.

Zhurong’s landing will mark a little distinctive from that made by NASA’s Perseverance rover in February. The NASA robot was dropped to the surface particularly through the agency’s tried-and-true “sky crane” method, which viewed the rover softly touch down in an ancient Mars lake bed. Zhurong’s lineage will seem related to Perseverance, but the lander will be taking all the effort. It practices a set of cameras and lidar to drive to the surface. If the touchdown is a victory, it will extend a ramp for Zhurong to go out onto Mars and start its exploration mission.

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The grounding zone is Utopia Planitia, the same domain of Mars where NASA’s Viking 2 lander touched down in 1976. Viking 2 was an especially interesting mission because some scientists proposed it had detected signs of life. China is striving for Zhurong to spend 90 sols (Martian days) on the surface.