Spectacular images from Mars: “Aha, another surprise!”

Chinese Mars orbiter sends sensational images to Earth. One expert is amazed at the trick used by experts.

Beijing – Mars is the planet most explored by – is above all the red surface with the US space agency NASA, Rovers “diligence” and “Curiosity” and lander “Insight”. Holds the planets. But the United States is not the only country that can roll a rover over the rocky terrain of Mars: China is the second country to land on Mars since 2021.

The United States is not alone in its orbit around Mars: China also has a space probe there – with the exception of NASA, the European space agency ISA and India.

Usually NASA missions attract attention – for example, when the “diligence” rover solves “one of the biggest mysteries” or finds the “treasure box” on Mars before the first mission to Mars. But there are many benefits to Chinese Mars research. Most recently, the Chinese rover “Jurong”, which landed on the Red Planet in May 2021, discovered a “mud volcano” that represents historic water sources.

Mars mission: China photographs its own space probe in Mars orbit

NASA’s “diligence” with landing videos on Mars caused a stir – especially among parachute fans – and the Chinese space agency CNSA is now making a name for itself with images of Mars orbiter “Tianwen-1”. However, these are not images taken by an orbiter, but rather unusual images showing the orbit of Mars.

In order to take pictures, CNSA engineers resorted to a trick: according to officials, a WiFi camera was used for the pictures. Space journalist and Chinese expert Andrew Jones is delighted On Twitter About the pictures: “Aha! This is another surprise of the Tianwen-1 mission! “And continues:” Orbiter launched a small satellite into orbit around Mars, which took these pictures.

Chinese rover on Mars: “Jurong” also sends a picture

The pictures show the orbit of “Tianwen-1” not only with its solar panels and the directional antenna for communication, but also a part of Mars. Among other things, you can see the ice at the North Pole of Mars and the red color of its surface, which gave Mars the nickname “Red Planet”.

A new image of the Chinese Mars rover “Jurong” has also been released: typical landscape patterns such as pits and rocks can be seen in a mosaic of three images. According to official data, the Chinese Mars mission has so far sent about 560 GB of raw scientific data to Earth. According to the CNSA, both the rover and the orbiter are in good condition and operating normally. (Tab)