China launches its first unmanned rocket to Mars, expected to land in February to deploy rover - National Post

Article content continued

Since 1960, half of all the 50-plus missions to Mars including flybys had failed, due to technical problems. Only a handful attempted to land on the planet.

More On This Topic

Challenges multiply for those attempting a landing – from ensuring a precise deceleration of the spacecraft to navigating the planet’s sometimes violent atmosphere.

“The mission must necessarily be challenging, and not be following in the footsteps of others completely,” Liu Tonjie, mission spokesman, told Reuters after the launch in an interview.

“This is an exploration project, so there will be no 100% assurance of success. If the mission is unsuccessful, or if there are problems, we will continue to push ahead, re-establish the project, and re-commit.”

China previously made a Mars bid in 2011 with Russia, but the Russian spacecraft carrying the probe failed to exit the Earth’s orbit and disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean.

Eight spacecraft – American, European and Indian – are currently either orbiting Mars or on its surface, with other missions underway or planned.

The United Arab Emirates launched a $200 million mission to Mars on Monday, an orbiter that will study the planet’s atmosphere.

The United States’ upcoming 2020 mission costs more than $2 billion.

Liu declined to give a cost estimate for China’s mission, but said expenses have been “very economical” when spread out over the six years since research and development began in 2014.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMigQFodHRwczovL25hdGlvbmFscG9zdC5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC9jaGluYS1sYXVuY2hlcy1pdHMtZmlyc3QtdW5tYW5uZWQtcm9ja2V0LXRvLW1hcnMtZXhwZWN0ZWQtdG8tbGFuZC1pbi1mZWJydWFyeS10by1kZXBsb3ktcm92ZXLSAQA?oc=5

2020-07-23 21:38:22Z
52780940269053