Planetary Exploration of China

Planetary Exploration of China
中国行星探测
Zhōngguó Xíngxīng Tàncè
Emblem of Planetary Exploration of China
Reaching for the Planets
Program overview
Country China
OrganizationChina National Space Administration (CNSA)
PurposeRobotic Interplanetary mission
StatusOngoing
Program history
Duration2016–present
First flightTianwen-1, July 23, 2020, 04:41 (2020-07-23UTC04:41Z) UTC
Last flightTianwen-1, July 23, 2020, 04:41 (2020-07-23UTC04:41Z) UTC
Successes1
Failures0
Launch site(s)Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site
Vehicle information
Launch vehicle(s)Long March rockets

The Planetary Exploration of China (PEC; Chinese: 中国行星探测; pinyin: Zhōngguó Xíngxīng Tàncè), also known as Tianwen (Chinese: 天问; pinyin: Tīanwèn; lit. 'Questions to Heaven'), is the robotic interplanetary spaceflight program conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program aims to explore planets of the Solar System, starting from Mars, and will be expanded to Jupiter and more in the future.[1]

The program was initially known as the Mars mission of China at the early stage.[2] It was later announced as Planetary Exploration of China in April 2020. The series of missions was named Tianwen.[3]

The first mission of the program, Tianwen-1 Mars exploration mission, began on July 23, 2020. A spacecraft, which consisted of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, was launched by a Long March 5 rocket from Wenchang.[4] The Tianwen-1 was inserted into Mars orbit in February 2021 after a seven-month journey, followed by a successful soft landing of the lander and Zhurong rover on May 14, 2021,[5] making China the second country in the world to successfully soft-land a fully operational spacecraft on Mars surface after the United States.

Future missions, including near-Earth asteroid sample return, Mars sample return and Jupiter system exploration, have been planned by PEC.[6]

  1. ^ Jones, Andrew (April 24, 2020). "China's Mars mission named Tianwen-1, appears on track for July launch". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  2. ^ Zhao, Lei (April 23, 2016). "Probe of Mars set for 2020". China Daily. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  3. ^ Zhao, Lei (April 24, 2020). "China's first Mars mission named Tianwen 1". China Daily. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  4. ^ Jones, Andrew (July 23, 2020). "Tianwen-1 launches for Mars, marking dawn of Chinese interplanetary exploration". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Jones, Andrew (May 14, 2021). "China's Zhurong Mars rover land safely in Utopia Planitia". SpaceNews. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference June2021announcement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).