Tianwen-1

Key facts

Mission & specifications

Mission

Tianwen-1 — 'Questions to Heaven', after a classical Chinese poem — was China's first independent mission to Mars, and one of the most ambitious debut planetary missions ever attempted. Where most space agencies began at Mars with a simple flyby or orbiter, China tried to do everything at once: orbit the planet, land on it, and drive a rover across it, all on the first try. Launched in July 2020, Tianwen-1 reached Mars in February 2021 and spent months in orbit surveying its target before releasing a landing capsule in May. The capsule carried the Zhurong rover safely down to Utopia Planitia, making China only the second nation, after the United States, to operate a working rover on the Martian surface. Zhurong explored for over a year, studying the soil and searching for buried water ice, before falling silent during the harsh Martian winter. The orbiter, meanwhile, continues to circle Mars, mapping the surface with its cameras and radar and relaying data home. Tianwen-1 announced China as a full participant in deep-space exploration, and its success paved the way for the country's planned missions to return samples from Mars and to explore the outer Solar System.

1. 2020Launch toward MarsLaunch

   China's first independent Mars mission sets off — orbiter, lander and rover together.

2. 2021Mars orbit insertionArrival

   Tianwen-1 enters orbit and surveys its landing site for months.

3. 2021Zhurong landsLanding

   The Zhurong rover touches down — China's first rover on Mars.

4. 2022Rover hibernatesMilestone

   Zhurong falls silent in the Martian winter; the orbiter keeps mapping and relaying.

Images

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