Tainwen-1 is expected to be launched later this year
China National Space Administration (CNSA), Chinese space agency on April 24 unveiled the name of its first unmanned exploration mission to Mars commemorating China’s annual Space Day and the 50th anniversary of the launch of its first satellite. According to the Xinhua news agency, the CNSA announced that The Red Planet mission has been named ‘Tianwen-1’. The unmanned Mars exploration mission is expected to be launched later this year.
The name is inspired by a poem written by Chinese poet Qu Yuan called “Tianwen”, or “Questions to Heaven”. In his poem, Qu Yuan questions in verse related to stars, celestial bodies, natural phenomena, myths, and traditional concepts and portrays a spirit of seeking the truth. The Xinhua news agency reported that the CNSA will be naming all its future red planet missions in Tianwen series symbolising China’s resolution to pursue science and truth while exploring the universe.
China launched its first successful satellite called Dongfanghong-1 in 1970. In 2003, it became the third country in the world to successfully put a man in space using its own rocket after the United States and the former Soviet Union. China’s Mars mission is aiming to catch up with India, US, Russia and the EU by completing the orbiting, landing and roving in one mission. In recent years, China’s space agency has achieved significant progress in its space exploration missions, evidently with landing a rover in the dark side of the Moon.
So far India, US, Russia and the EU have succeeded in their respective Mars missions with India being the first Asian country to successfully launch Mangalyaan, its first Mars orbiter mission and the first country in the world to have completed the Mars orbit insertion in the first attempt.
