Tianwen-1

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Tianwen-1, China’s first interplanetary mission, entered Mars orbit Feb. 10 after traveling for 202 days. It began the orbit with a burn about 15 minutes of its 3000N main engine at 6:52 a.m. Eastern. That was enough to permit the craft to be captured by the Red planets gravity. Tianwen-1 will gradually lower its orbit for better study of Mars. The orbiter is expected to approach as close as 265 kilometers to Mars, allowing a high-resolution camera to return images with a resolution of better than 0.50 meters per pixel. Those images will be almost as good as NASA's HiRISE images. HiRISE has a pixel size of 30-60 centimeters, or 1 to 2 feet wide.[1] HiRISE can make out features that are about 3 feet (~1 meter) across (as small as a kitchen table).[2]

In May or June, a 240-kilogram solar powered rover will descent to the surface.[3]

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