Mars a high-traffic zone this month

BEIJING: An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft last night entered orbit around Mars after a 6½-month journey from Earth, China’s space agency said, in the country’s first independent mission to the red planet.

In May or June, the Tianwen-1 probe will attempt to land a capsule carrying a 240kg rover on to a plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars known as Utopia Planitia.

If the landing is successful, the solar-powered rover will explore the Martian surface for 90 days.

The probe is one of three reaching Mars this month. The United Arab Emirates’ Hope entered the planet’s orbit on Tuesday.

In the US’S most ambitious Mars mission, the 1-ton Perseverance probe is expected to arrive on February 18.

| Reuters AN image of Mars taken by China’s unmanned probe this week.