{"id":238574,"date":"2021-04-29T18:58:34","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T15:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/china-to-land-a-rover-on-mars-in-mid-may-heres-how-itll-work\/"},"modified":"2021-04-29T18:58:34","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T15:58:34","slug":"china-to-land-a-rover-on-mars-in-mid-may-heres-how-itll-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/china-to-land-a-rover-on-mars-in-mid-may-heres-how-itll-work\/","title":{"rendered":"#China to land a rover on Mars in mid-May \u2014 here\u2019s how it\u2019ll work"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40953998f96\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40953998f96\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/china-to-land-a-rover-on-mars-in-mid-may-heres-how-itll-work\/#Landing_on_Mars\" >Landing on Mars<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/china-to-land-a-rover-on-mars-in-mid-may-heres-how-itll-work\/#Zhurong_the_%E2%80%98fire_god\" >Zhurong: the \u2018fire god\u2019<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#China to land a rover on Mars in mid-May \u2014 here\u2019s how it\u2019ll work<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2021%2F04%2Ftianmen.jpg&amp;signature=89726f4d56bdd89ffa073e031790b24e\" \/><\/p>\n<div>For the first few months of 2021, the Martian atmosphere was buzzing with <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-mars-became-the-prize-for-the-new-space-race-and-why-china-is-hellbent-on-winning-it-153133\">new visitors from Earth<\/a>. First, it was the UAE Space Agency\u2019s Hope probe, followed by the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/mars-missions-from-china-and-uae-are-set-to-go-into-orbit-heres-what-they-could-discover-154408\">Chinese Tianwen-1 entering orbit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, Nasa landed the biggest-ever rover on Mars, as well as its companion, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/mars-how-ingenuity-helicopter-made-the-first-flight-on-another-planet-159261\">an ingenious helicopter.<\/a>\u00a0Both have been setting new milestones since.<\/p>\n<p>The next visitor to the planet will be Tianwen-1 mission\u2019s lander, which will attempt to reach the surface of Mars in mid-May. To enter the Martian atmosphere, it will use a slightly different technique to previous missions.<\/p>\n<p>Landing on Mars is notoriously dangerous \u2013 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/decades-of-attempts-show-how-hard-it-is-to-land-on-mars-heres-how-we-plan-to-succeed-in-2021-69734\">more missions have failed than succeeded<\/a>. A successful Mars landing requires entering the atmosphere at very high speeds, then slowing the spacecraft down just the right way as it <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roaches its landing location.<\/p>\n<p>This phase of the mission, known as entry-descent-landing, is the most critical. Previous missions have used several different ways of Martian atmospheric entry.<\/p>\n<p>Perfecting entry to Mars\u2019s atmosphere has been helped by the experience of returning spacecraft to Earth. Earth may have a significantly different atmosphere to Mars, but the principles remain the same.<\/p>\n<p>A spacecraft orbiting a planet will be moving very fast, to keep itself bound to that orbit. But if the spacecraft entered an atmosphere at such high speed, even one as thin as Mars\u2019s, it would burn up. Anything entering the atmosphere needs to be slowed down significantly and to get rid of the heat generated during this brief journey. There are several ways to go about it.<\/p>\n<p>Spacecraft are protected from the heat generated during atmospheric entry using heat shields. Various missions in the past have used techniques such as absorbing heat, an insulating coating, reflecting the heat back into the atmosphere, or by ablation \u2013 burning up the shield material.<\/p>\n<p>From Apollo missions of the 1960s to the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/spacex-crew-dragon-is-returning-to-earth-heres-when-to-hold-your-breath-143500\">more recent SpaceX\u2019s Dragon<\/a>, these techniques have been used successfully, and they work really well for Earth. But when it comes to Mars, engineers need to employ some additional measures.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Landing_on_Mars\"><\/span>Landing on Mars<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Orbiters are designed to monitor a planet\u2019s surface from orbit and act as a communications relay station. When approaching a planet, the spacecraft is usually directed along successively smaller elliptical orbits, slowing down each time, until it reaches its target orbit. This technique can also be used to lower the orbit of a spacecraft ahead of a lander\u2019s atmospheric entry.<\/p>\n<p>The entire maneuver occurs over a few months and doesn\u2019t need any additional equipment \u2013 an efficient way to conserve fuel. Since it uses the planet\u2019s upper atmosphere to apply brakes, it\u2019s called \u2018aerobraking.\u2019 Aerobraking has been used for various Mars missions including <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arc.aiaa.org\/doi\/abs\/10.2514\/6.2018-2713\">ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter<\/a> and the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1029\/2006JE002701\">Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Aerobraking can significantly slow down the spacecraft, but for missions with rovers to land, it gets more complicated. On Mars, the atmospheric density is just 1% of Earth and there are no oceans for the spacecraft to safely splash into. The blunt shape of the spacecraft alone is not enough to reduce the speed.<\/p>\n<p>Previously, successful missions have used extra measures. Mars Pathfinder spacecraft used parachutes to decelerate, while relying on a unique airbag system that sprung into action <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arc.aiaa.org\/doi\/abs\/10.2514\/2.3478\">in the final few seconds<\/a> to absorb the landing shock. The Spirit and Opportunity rovers landed successfully on Mars <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/BF03256527\">with the same technique<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A few years later, the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/curiosity-catches-a-whiff-of-methane-on-mars-and-a-possibility-of-past-life-35595\">Curiosity rover<\/a> used a new landing system. In the final few seconds, rockets were fired, allowing the spacecraft to hover while a tether \u2013 a skycrane \u2013 lowered the rover to the dusty Martian surface. This new system demonstrated the delivery of a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/abstract\/document\/4526283\">heavy payload to Mars<\/a> and paved the way for bigger missions.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, the Perseverance rover which landed in early 2021, used the reliable skycrane as well as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s11214-020-00762-y\">two more advanced technologies<\/a>. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/mars-perseverance-rover-set-for-nail-biting-landing-heres-the-rocket-science-154886\">These new features<\/a> which used live images taken from its cameras enabled a more accurate, reliable and safer landing.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Zhurong_the_%E2%80%98fire_god\"><\/span>Zhurong: the \u2018fire god\u2019<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Chinese Tianwen-1 rover landing is the next Mars mission. The ambitious mission has orbiting, landing, and roving components \u2013 the first mission to include all three on its first attempt. It has already been circling the red planet since it entered Mars\u2019s orbit on February 24 and will attempt to land its rover Zhurong \u2013 which means \u201cfire god\u201d \u2013 in mid-May.<\/p>\n<p>In size, Zhurong falls between Spirit and the Perseverence and it is carrying <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0273117720307870\">six pieces of scientific equipment<\/a>. After it lands, Zhurong will survey the surroundings to study Martian soil, geomorphology and atmosphere, and will look for signs of subsurface water ice.<\/p>\n<p>Traditionally, the Chinese authorities don\u2019t reveal a lot of information before the event. However, based on an early <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s42064-017-0011-8\">overview of the mission<\/a> by some Chinese researchers, we know the landing sequence the spacecraft will attempt to follow.<\/p>\n<p>On May 17, Zhurong \u2013 protected by an aeroshell (a protective shell surrounding the spacecraft which includes the heat shield) \u2013 will enter the atmosphere at a speed of 4 km\/s. When it slows down enough, parachutes will be deployed. In the last phase of the sequence, rockets with variable thrust engines will be used for further deceleration.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast with its American counterpart, Tianwen-1 will employ two reliable technologies \u2013 a laser range finder to work out where it is relative to Martian terrain and a microwave sensor to determine its speed more accurately. These will be used for navigational correction during its parachuted descent phase. During the powered descent phase at the end, optical and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/meet-lidar-the-amazing-laser-technology-thats-helping-archaeologists-discover-lost-cities-60915\">Lidar imaging<\/a> will assist in hazard detection.<\/p>\n<p>Just before touchdown, an automated obstacle avoidance sequence will start to ensure a soft landing. If the mission is successful, China will be the first country to land a rover on Mars on its first attempt. A few days after that, Zhurong will be ready to explore the surface.<!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><em>This article by\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/deep-bandivadekar-1199223\">Deep Bandivadekar<\/a>, PhD candidate, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-strathclyde-1287\">University of Strathclyde,\u00a0<\/a> is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-chinese-mars-lander-how-zhurong-will-attempt-to-touch-down-on-the-red-planet-159827\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;appId=378011798897423&amp;version=v2.6\" id=\"socialSrcFacebook\" type=\"text\/template\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/china-to-land-a-rover-on-mars-in-mid-may-heres-how-itll-work-syndication\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#China to land a rover on Mars in mid-May \u2014 here\u2019s how it\u2019ll work&#8221; For the first few months of 2021, the Martian atmosphere was buzzing with new visitors from Earth. First, it was the UAE Space Agency\u2019s Hope probe, followed by the Chinese Tianwen-1 entering orbit. More recently, Nasa landed the biggest-ever rover on&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":238575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/04\/tianmen.jpg&signature=528b39503bd9928ddc8bfdf63997428f","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-238574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}