Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover
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| Mission type | Mars orbiter and rover |
|---|---|
| Operator | CNSA |
| Mission duration | ≥ 1 Earth year[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | July/August 2020 (proposed)[2][1] |
| Rocket | Long March 5 |
| Launch site | Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site |
| Entered service | |
| Mars orbiter | |
| Spacecraft component | orbiter |
| Orbital insertion | 2021 (proposed) |
| Mars rover | |
| Spacecraft component | rover |
| Landing date | 2021 (proposed) |
The Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter, Lander and Small Rover[3] is a planned project by China to deploy a Mars orbiter, lander and rover on Mars. The mission is planned to be launched in July or August 2020[2][4] with a Long March 5 heavy lift rocket.[5][6][7]
Overview[edit | hide | hide all]
China's Mars program started in 2009 in a partnership with Russia. However, the Russian spacecraft Fobos-Grunt carrying a Chinese orbiter Yinghuo-1 crashed on 15 January 2012, days after lift-off. After that, China started its own Mars project.[8]
The spacecraft is being developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), and managed by the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) in Beijing.[5] This Mars mission would be a demonstration of technology needed for a Mars sample return mission proposed for the 2030s.[5] The lander carrying the rover will use a parachute, retrorockets, and an airbag to achieve landing.[9]
The rover will be powered by solar panels, probe the ground with radar, perform chemical analyses on the soil, and look for biomolecules and biosignatures.[1]
The priorities of the mission include finding both current and previous life, and evaluating the planet's surface and environment. Solo and joint explorations of the Mars orbiter and rover will produce maps of the Martian surface topography, soil characteristics, material composition, water ice, atmosphere, ionosphere field, and other scientific data will be collected.[10]
Simulated landings have been performed for the mission preparations by the Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics and Electricity.[3]
Scientific instruments[edit | hide]
The orbiter, lander and rover will carry in total 13 instruments, including: [5]
- Orbiter
- Medium and High resolution cameras.[3]
- Space particle detector
- Spectrometer, to look for methane in the atmosphere of Mars
- Space-based radar
- Rover
- Ground-penetrating radar to image about 400 m (1,300 ft) below the Martian surface
- Radiation detector
See also[edit | hide]
References[edit | hide]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "China Exclusive: China's aim to explore Mars". Xinhua News. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "China shows first images of Mars rover, aims for 2020 mission". Reuters. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Jones, Andrew (9 February 2018). "China simulates Mars landing in preparation for 2020 mission". GBTimes. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ↑ "Interview with Zhang Rongqiao, the man behind China's mission to Mars". Youtube. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
China Central Television
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Jones, Andrew (22 February 2016). "China is racing to make the 2020 launch window to Mars". GBTimes. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
- ↑ Berger, Eric (22 February 2016). "China pressing ahead with orbiter and lander mission to Mars". ARS Technica. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ Lu, Shen (4 November 2016). "China says it plans to land rover on Mars in 2020". CNN News. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ Nan, Wu (24 June 2014). "Next stop - Mars: China aims to send rover to Red Planet within six years". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ Jones, Andrew (21 March 2016). "China reveals more details of its 2020 Mars mission". GB Times. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
- ↑ Zhou; et al. (13–16 June 2016). "The subsurface penetrating radar on the rover of China's Mars 2020 mission". IEEE Xplore.
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| This article uses material from Mars Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover on Wikipedia (view authors). License under CC BY-SA 3.0. | 
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