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Additional Media

Tianwen-1 Mars Launch Live Stream

China is targeting 04:00 on 7/23/2020 UTC for liftoff of their Tianwen-1 Mars mission aboard their Long March 5 rocket. If successful, this will be China’s f...

Live: China's inaugurates first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 in southern Hainan Province

2020 can be regarded as the year of Mars. Following Sunday's launch of the UAE's Mars probe, China inaugurates its first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 i...

Tianwen-1 Mars Launch Live Stream

China is targeting 04:00 on 7/23/2020 UTC for liftoff of their Tianwen-1 Mars mission aboard their Long March 5 rocket. If successful, this will be China’s f...

Tianwen-1 (Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover)

Overview

Destination: Heliocentric N/A
Mission: Robotic Exploration

Heliocentric N/A 101 Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Tianwen-1 ("questions to heaven") Mars mission includes a Martian orbiter and a lander/rover duo. This will be China's first mission to Mars. The spacecraft will reach Mars in February 2021. Lander will remain attached to the orbiter for two to three months before attempting its landing. The chosen landing area is Utopia Planitia, a huge basin formed by a large impact far back in Mars' history. The rover is expected to be in operation for about 90 Martian sols. The Tianwen-1 orbiter will provide a relay communication link to the rover while performing its own scientific observations for one Martian year. The orbiter will operate in a polar orbit in order to map Mars' morphology and geological structure while also using the Mars-Orbiting Subsurface Exploration Radar instrument to investigate soil characteristics and water-ice distribution. It will also measure the ionosphere and the electromagnetic and gravitational fields, the new paper reported. The rover will have 13 instruments detecting things such as topography, soil, environment, atmosphere, water ice, physical field and internal structure. It will investigate the surface soil characteristics and water-ice distribution with its own Subsurface Exploration Radar. It will also analyze surface material composition and characteristics of the Martian climate and environment on the surface.

Long March 5

Family: Long March 5
Configuration:

Long March 5 is a Chinese heavy lift launch system developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). CZ-5 is the first Chinese vehicle designed from the ground up to focus on non-hypergolic liquid rocket propellants. Currently, two CZ-5 vehicle configurations are planned, with maximum payload capacities of ~25,000 kilograms (55,000 lb) to LEO and ~14,000 kilograms (31,000 lb) to GTO. The Long March 5 roughly matches the capabilities of American EELV heavy-class vehicles such as the Delta IV Heavy.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    57.0 m
  • Diameter
    5.0 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    867 T
  • Thrust
    10600 kN
Family
  • Name
    Long March 5
  • Family
    Long March 5
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Long March 5
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    25000 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    14000 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

Circle Image
Chairman & President: Lei Fanpei Founded: 1999 Successes: 450 Failures: 14 Pending: 8

Agency Type: Government

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has a number of subordinate entities which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic and tactical missile systems, and ground equipment. It was officially established in July 1999 as part of a Chinese government reform drive, having previously been one part of the former China Aerospace Corporation. Various incarnations of the program date back to 1956.

INFO WIKI

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Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

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