6 | Thursday, April 29, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA Zhurong Mars mission team prepares on course for historic for its toughest challenge journey Scientists are readying the Tianwen 1 lander for touchdown on the red planet. Zhao Lei reports. By ZHAO LEI
s Beijing’s residents bask “Compared with landing on the ber of signals and data we will be If it touches down safely on among the spring blos moon, touching down on Mars is able to upload and download will be the red planet and works as soms, engineers and tech more demanding and complex as a very limited. That will require us to planned, the Tianwen 1 rover nicians in the capital’s result of the planet’s unique atmos make the best use of the precious will be the sixth such vehicle northwesternA suburbs are busily pre pheric conditions and other uncer transmission period every day and deployed on Mars, following paring for a challenging maneuver tainties. That’s why scientists call the make sure our commands are suc five predecessors launched by involving a spacecraft hundreds of process ‘Seven Minutes of Terror’,” the cinct and precise.” the United States. millions of kilometers from Earth. chief controller said. “The team is Liu Shaoran, a deputy chief con If the semiautonomous craft The team members — spacecraft doing its best to make it a success.” troller of Tianwen 1, said the team functions efficiently, it will control professionals at the Beijing members have fulfilled their duties work for at least three months Aerospace Control Center — are Ultimate goal and commitments to the mission. and undertake comprehensive making allout efforts to ensure that The Tianwen 1 probe, named after Many have sacrificed much in the surveys of the planet. Tianwen 1, China’s first independent an ancient Chinese poem, consists of service of their country and its space The rover, recently named interplanetary mission, will soon two major sections — an orbiter and a endeavors, he said. Zhurong after an ancient god of safely land a rover on Mars to con landing capsule. “For instance, Liu Xiaohui. a young fire, is 1.85 meters high and duct scientific tests. It was launched by a Long March 5 woman in my team, postponed her weighs about 240 kilograms. The rover was recently named heavylift carrier rocket on July 23 wedding ceremony in her hometown It has six wheels and four Zhurong after an ancient god of fire. from the Wenchang Space Launch three times in the past year so her solar panels, and can move at “The next step will be the entry, Center in the southernmost island Spacecraft control specialists at the Beijing Aerospace Control work would not be affected,” Liu 200 meters an hour on the Mar descent and landing procedures, province of Hainan. As such, it kick Center monitor the operations of the Tianwen 1 Mars probe in this Shaoran said. tian surface. It carries six scien which will be the most challenging ed off China’s planetary exploration undated photo. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY “Before the third planned ceremo tific instruments, including a and risky parts of the entire mission,” program. ny, everything was ready in her home multispectral camera, a meteor Cui Xiaofeng, chief controller of the The mission’s ultimate goal is to town and her family members and ological sensor and ground mission at the center, told China Daily land a rover next month or in June team was formed in early 2018 and landing. During the probe’s seven friends had been informed about the penetrating radar. in an exclusive interview this month. in the southern region of Utopia most of the members are ages 30 to month voyage to Mars, the control occasion, but she eventually called off They will allow Zhurong to From February, the center’s engi Planitia — a vast plain within Uto 40. Since the first day, the team lers assisted the spacecraft in her trip because she believed her obtain information about a neers and technicians have been pia, the largest recognized impact members knew they would be fac carrying out four midcourse correc work was more important than per wide range of topics, such as the working to a tight schedule to ensure basin in the solar system — to con ing a large number of difficulties tions and a deepspace orbital sonal issues. composition of the planet’s sur that everything will be perfect before duct scientific surveys. and challenges because Tianwen 1 maneuver to ensure it was always “No one persuaded or forced her face, the geological structure, the landing is attempted, he said. If the robotic mission succeeds, would be China’s first attempt to precisely aimed at the planet. to do that, it was simply her own climate and environment. “Since the spacecraft started orbit Chinese scientists will get their first send a spacecraft to the red planet. They also performed comprehen decision.” Tianwen 1, China’s first inde ing Mars and conducting extensive opportunity to closely observe Mars, The mission is highly sophisticated sive examinations of the probe’s Eventually, Liu Xiaohui and her pendent Mars mission, began in examinations of the preselected land which was first recorded in the coun and has many differences from the components to check they were husband used a video link to hold a July when the probe of the same ing area in late February, it has gener try on oracle bone inscriptions in country’s previous space projects. working correctly. “telewedding ceremony” attended by name was launched from the ated a huge amount of data and about 1300 BC. “We were supposed to have a Yu Tianyi, a senior control special their relatives and friends in her Wenchang Space Launch Cen images,” Cui said. In ancient China, the reddish celes short period of time to ready our ist, said the center’s workers are hometown, he said. ter in Hainan province. “That’s producing a heavy work tial sphere was known as Yinghuo, or selves for the mission, which expecting a successful touchdown, Even though Liu Xiaohui is now As it was loaded with fuel, the load for my team members, who are “flickering flame”, a name derived required a lot of planning, design but after the landing they will also expecting her first child, she contin probe weighed more than 5 responsible for making detailed from ancient astronomers’ observa and calculations,” Jin Wenma, a sen face many challenges. ues to work as hard as ever, Liu Shao metric tons when it was arrangements for the investigative tions that it moved like a capricious ior deepspace control expert, said. For example, communicating ran added. launched, but its weight gradu operations and conducting highpre light in the night sky. “The probe will have traveled with the semiautonomous rover Wang Cheng, another deputy chief ally decreased as the spacecraft cision orbital control maneuvers. Fur Tianwen 1 is currently held in a more than 1,200 times the distance and manipulating its operations on controller, said Run Dong, a young burned the propellants during thermore, they are tasked with parking orbit about 280 kilometers between Earth and the moon. We the planet’s surface will pose tre man in his team, has spent almost all its flight. processing the data and giving the above Mars and it circles the planet can’t allow even a tiny error if we mendous challenges. his time working at his post as a mis It traveled more than 470 mil findings to scientists for analysis and every two days. The probe is now want to safely land the rover on the “Driving a Martian rover will be sion planner since he joined the cen lion kilometers before entering research.” more than 280 million km from area chosen by the scientists. very different to controlling a lunar ter several years ago. a Martian orbit on Feb 10, when In addition, the controllers will con Earth. “We needed to develop plans and buggy due to a number of factors: the Dong’s schedule leaves little time it was 193 million km from tinue working to improve the proce technologies for major steps in the much greater distance (between the for family life. “However, he has rarely Earth. dures for the entry, descent and Crucial tasks mission, including the Mars orbital two planets); the more complicated told anyone about his devotion and Because the two bodies keep landing maneuvers until the moment The Beijing Aerospace Control Cen insertion, the entrydescentland environment; and the effect of the the sacrifices made in his private life,” moving on their own orbits, a they actually occur. ter is China’s top body for controlling ing operation, longdistance track Martian atmosphere,” Yu said. Wang said. Marsbound spacecraft must fly “Even though the procedures were and tracking deepspace missions. ing and communication, and the “Compared with our experience of “I understand him. There are many in a carefully designed curved basically worked out months ago, our It was established in 1996 to serve rover’s movements on the Martian operating lunar vehicles, we will people like him in this building who trajectory to catch up with the people need to keep simulating as the country’s manned space pro soil.” have more difficulties in establishing are doers rather than talkers. They red planet. Depending on the many scenarios as possible and opti grams and has taken part in all 11 Thanks to the center’s hardwork and maintaining communications are working hard for our nation.” orbits, Mars is 55 million km to mizing plans for the upcoming crewed space flights and lunar ing engineers and technicians, Tian with the Martian rover. We will have 400 million km from Earth. maneuvers,” Cui said, adding that the expeditions. wen 1 has smoothly completed all of a very short time every day when we Contact the writer at On Feb 24, Tianwen 1 entered team is racing to complete its tasks. The center’s Mars mission control its maneuvers ahead of the final will be able to contact it, so the num [email protected] a preset parking orbit. The spacecraft has been pro grammed to maintain that posi tion for about three months to examine the selected touch down site before releasing its landing capsule to descend through the atmosphere. The capsule is expected to land sometime next month or in June, and after several days of preparations it will place a rover on the soil. By the time of the touchdown, Mars will be about 318 million km from Earth, according to the mission planners. If Tianwen 1 can fulfill its objectives — orbiting the planet to make comprehensive obser vations, landing on the surface and deploying a rover to con duct tests — it will become the first Mars expedition to accom plish all three goals with one probe. The most recent rover to operate on Mars was Persever ance of the US, which started People watch the Tianwen 1 probe being launched by a Long March 5 heavylift carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southernmost island province of operations in the Jezero Crater Hainan on July 23. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY on Feb 19 (Beijing time). Tianwen 1 is the world’s 46th Mars exploration mission since TALKING POINT October 1960, when the former Soviet Union launched the first tant tasks, they put considerations words, having witnessed the coun Marsbound spacecraft. Only 19 about their own health aside and try’s lunar exploration efforts which of those missions have been Tonguetied, but totally in control devote themselves to their work. landed a rover on the far side of the successful. “In fact, many private companies moon — something no other nation Tianwen, meaning “the quest near as exciting and attractive, if I by working long hours, and they have contacted our professionals, has accomplished. They also brought for heavenly truth”, is an epic may say so. They don’t tell their sto urged him not to overtax himself. offering much higher salaries, but samples of lunar soil back to Earth 44 work by Qu Yuan, a renowned Zhao Lei ry well, often look prosaic and However, after he was discharged most of them chose to stay. Why? years after the last moon rocks poet from the Chu Kingdom always use the same music for the from the hospital, Wang quickly Because they are convinced that returned from the silver sphere. who lived during the Warring soundtrack. returned to his job and resumed a what they are doing here is worth it, I have also covered the construc States Period (475221 BC). That description can also be punishing schedule, working day and and also because they want to be tion of a global navigation satellite The China National Space I like watching the promotional applied to the nation’s space workers, night until the condition reemerged part of the motherland’s space network that has ended China’s reli Administration said that nam videos released by SpaceX because such as the spacecraft control special and forced him to see a doctor again. exploration efforts.” ance on foreign systems. ing the mission after the poem their blend of spectacular scenes and ists I interviewed at the Beijing Aero I learned this from Wang’s col He added that a lot of people at Now, I am looking forward to was intended to illustrate Chi good soundtracks is always inspiring space Control Center in a league Liu Shaoran, a senior control the center have made sacrifices in watching the launch of a colossal na’s determination to explore and brings emotional satisfaction. northwestern suburb of the capital. ler who has been involved with the their private lives to aid their work, rocket that will place the core capsule deep space and also foster a love It is fair to say that those visually They are brilliant at their jobs, but Tianwen 1 mission since the launch of but they would never tell a reporter of China’s space station in orbit many of science in the nation’s young and acoustically enjoyable advertis they always appear a little tongue the probe in July. like me about those things. hundreds of kilometers above the people. ing clips are the major source of my tied when I ask them to share their Wang, who was sitting next to Liu, “Just like many other people striv Earth. For the second step in the knowledge of, and respect, for the own stories with me. told me, “This is not worth writing ing for our space program, they are So, though Wang, Liu and their country’s Mars’ exploration United States’ company’s audacious Wang Cheng, a senior engineer about.” the reason China’s space industry colleagues may not be good storytel program, a larger probe will set endeavors. with the center’s Tianwen 1 mission Liu responded, “We all under has achieved so much and has risen lers, they will always be remem off for the planet sometime By comparison, promotional vid team, had heart stent surgery in stand that health is the foundation of so rapidly in the global space sector,” bered and thanked for the pride and around 2030 to take samples eos created by China’s space author November. The doctors told him that one’s life and work, but when my col he said. glory they have created for China and return them to Earth, offi ities and contractors are nowhere his condition had partly been caused leagues are faced with such impor I can testify to the truth of his and its people. cials said.