Renderings of the "Tianwen-1" on-orbit work Courtesy of the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Zhongxin Online Hai, February 10 Title: To Mars "work" for a year What is the "performance" of the Tianwen-1 probe?
Reporter Zheng Yingying
On February 10, 2022, China's Tianwen-1 probe went to Mars to "work" for a year, and this year, it started from "new people on Mars" and experienced a lot.
The reporter of China News Network interviewed Chu Yingzhi, deputy commander of the Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter of the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and popularized the interpretation of the "first experience of Mars work" of "Tianwen-1" this year.
It is not easy to "go to work" "thousands of miles" to go to space to work
China launched its first autonomous Mars exploration mission on July 23, 2020, with the Tianwen-1 probe weighing about 5 tons and consisting of an orbiter and a landing rover, including the Zhurong rover and the entry module.
At 19:52 Beijing time on February 10, 2021, "Tianwen-1" successfully implemented brake capture, and then entered orbit around Mars, becoming China's first artificial Mars satellite.
"Tianwen-1" Can this officially "work" on Mars? No, it also requires an "internship period" of about 3 months.
"After arriving on Mars, Tianwen-1 flew around Mars for about 3 months before releasing the Zhurong rover. Why go around Mars for 3 months? Because we are going for the first time, the landing is still full of risks and unknowns. Chu Yingzhi said.
At 7:18 a.m. Beijing time on May 15, 2021, the Tianwen-1 landing rover successfully landed in the pre-selected landing area of the southern Martian Utopia Plain, and China's first Mars exploration mission landed on Mars successfully.
Chu Yingzhi said that the above-mentioned time point of Tianwen-1 landing on Mars is equivalent to about two o'clock in the afternoon on Mars, "We found after about 3 months of exploration that this time period landing is relatively safe." ”
In this regular exploration of about 3 months, "Tianwen-1" not only understood the flatness of the surface terrain of Mars, but also observed its atmospheric movement, sandstorms and other meteorological conditions, accumulating sufficient experience for the landing to officially "go to work".
"Formal" to work Division of labor records "what Mars sees and hears"
After the 3-month "internship observation period", with the Tianwen-1 landing rover landing on Mars, the orbiter and the Zhurong rover began to take their places, one "in the sky" and one "on the ground", dividing labor and cooperating to carry out the "Great Exploration of the Mysteries of Mars".
Chu Yingzhi introduced that the orbiter working over Mars is mainly to take pictures of the "whole ball", which is characterized by large scale and large range, such as "seeing" several mountains and several Grand Canyons on Mars. The Zhurong rover on the surface of Mars has a relatively small range of movement and does not "walk" fast, but it can make key observations of local areas and can "shoot" more detailed and clear scientific discoveries.
As of February 4, 2022 Beijing time, Tianwen-1 has been in orbit for 561 days, and the Zhurong rover has worked for 259 Martian days, with a cumulative driving of 1537 meters. The orbiter and rover are in good condition and functioning normally.
Tianwen-1 is constantly collecting scientific data to explore the periodic laws of Mars. Chu Yingzhi said that its main contents include: the exploration of the global topography of Mars, the exploration of global material composition and distribution, and the exploration of the space environment around Mars, etc. "We want to explore what the law of change on Mars is, so that when our probe goes to Mars in the future, we will know what kind of situation we will encounter." ”
Shoulder the future "take the neighbor as a mirror" to protect the earth's home
In Chu Yingzhi's view, the exploration of the moon can be compared to human beings walking out of the house into their own yards, exploring Mars is only to visit neighbors, and deep space exploration is like the early exploration of the oceans by humans.
Why should we visit the "neighbor" of Mars?
Chu Yingzhi said that there are many scientists who believe that Mars is the "future" of the earth, and we explore Mars, from a macroscopic point of view, hoping to understand the evolution of the solar system and understand whether the earth will follow the old path of Mars (evolution). If the earth is going to evolve like this, what do we need to do to keep the earth home?
He made an analogy that exploring Mars was like going to a neighbor's house to see, "Is there anyone in the neighbor's house?" Why is it deserted? Is it far from the 'water source' or far from the 'rice field'? Then see if we want to correct or 'move'. ”
He said that the ultimate purpose of our exploration of Mars is to protect the home of the earth and to better survive and develop human beings. (End)