China’s Mars probe sends its first photos of the Red Planet
China has released the first photographs and video from its Mars probe, four days after the spacecraft landed on the Red Planet.
The first photograph, a black and white image, was taken by an obstacle avoidance camera installed in front of the Mars rover, the China National Space Administration said in a statement on its website. The image shows a ramp on the lander has been extended to the planet’s surface. The terrain in front of the rover is clearly visible in the image, while the horizon appears curved because of the camera’s wide-angle lens.
The second image, in color, was taken by the navigation camera fitted to the rear of the rover. The rover’s solar panels and antenna are seen unfolded, and the red soil and rocks on the Martian surface are clearly visible.
The landing module from the Tianwen-1, which has been in orbit since February, touched down on Utopia Planitia, a large plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars on Saturday, according to reports by state media CCTV.
The lander was carrying the Zhurong rover, named after an ancient Chinese god of fire, which will explore the surface near the landing site. China is only the second country after