History, China managed to land the aircraft on Mars.

Source: Xinhua.

https://bit.ly/3w6Qwqb

BEIJING. China’s Mars rover successfully landed on the red planet Mars Saturday morning (15/5) Beijing time. This is the first time China has landed a plane on a planet other than Earth. The Tianwen-1 aircraft, which consists of an orbiter, lander and rover, was launched from the launch site of the Wenchang spacecraft on the coast of the island province of Hainan, southern China on July 23, 2020. This is the first step in planetary exploration in China. solar system, with the aim of completing the sacrifice, landing and exploration of the red planet in one mission. As quoted by Xinhua, Saturday (15/5), the name Tianwen, which means Questions to Heaven, comes from a poem written by the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan (circa 340-278 BC). The spacecraft entered Mars orbit in February 2021 after making a nearly seven-month journey through space, and spent more than two months surveying potential landing sites. On the early hours of Saturday (15/5), the spacecraft began descending from its park orbit, and the incoming capsule covering the lander and rover separated from the orbiter at around 4 a.m. After flying for approximately three hours, the capsule slides towards the red planet and enters the Martian atmosphere at an altitude of 125 km, initiating the riskiest phase of the entire mission. First, the aerodynamic form of the specially designed entry capsule is slowed down by the friction of the Martian atmosphere. When the spacecraft’s speed was lowered from 4.8 km per second to about 460 meters per second, a large parachute covering an area of about 200 square meters was unfolded to continue reducing its speed to less than 100 meters per second. The spacecraft’s parachute and outer shield were then discarded, exposing the lander and rover, and the lander’s retrorocket was fired to further slow the spacecraft’s speed to nearly zero. About 100 meters above the surface of Mars, the plane hovers to identify obstacles and measure the tilt of the surface. Avoiding obstacles, the aircraft chooses a relatively flat area and descends slowly, landing safely on four supporting legs. The plane crashed through the Martian atmosphere, lasted about nine minutes, was extremely complicated without ground control, and had to be carried out by the spacecraft independently, said Geng Yan, an official at CNSA’s Center for Moon Exploration and Space Program. "Each step has only one chance, and the actions are closely linked. If there is a shortage, the landing will fail," said Geng.