According to state news agency Xinhua, an unmanned Chinese spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars on Saturday, making China the second space-faring nation to do so after the United States.
The Tianwen-1 spacecraft landed on a large plain known as Utopia Planitia, “for the first time leaving a Chinese footprint on Mars,” as per Xinhua.
At about 17:00 GMT on Friday, the craft left its parked orbit (1am Beijing time Saturday).
According to China Space News, the landing module separated from the orbiter three hours later and entered the Martian atmosphere.
The landing phase was described as “nine minutes of terror” as the module decelerates and then descends slowly.
Zhurong, a solar-powered rover, will now perform a survey of the landing site before leaving its platform to conduct inspections. Zhurong has six scientific instruments, including a high-resolution topography telescope, and is named after a legendary Chinese god of fire.
