By Nneka Nwogwugwu
An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars on Saturday.
The state news agency Xinhua reports that the landing has made China the second space-faring nation after the United States to land on the Red Planet.
The Tianwen-1 spacecraft landed on a site on a vast plain known as Utopia Planitia, “leaving a Chinese footprint on Mars for the first time,” Xinhua said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a message of congratulations to all the people involved in the mission.
According to the official China Space News, the craft left its parked orbit at about 1700 GMT Friday (0100 Beijing time Saturday), adding that the landing module separated from the orbiter three hours later and entered the Martian atmosphere.
The rover, named Zhurong, will now survey the landing site before departing from its platform to conduct inspections. Named after a mythical Chinese god of fire, Zhurong has six scientific instruments including a high-resolution topography camera.
It will study the planet’s surface soil and atmosphere. Zhurong will also look for signs of ancient life, including any sub-surface water and ice, using a ground-penetrating radar.
If Zhurong is successfully deployed, China would be the first country to orbit, land and release a rover in its maiden mission to Mars.
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