Mars bound spacecraft Tianwen-1 captures stunning pics of Earth and Moon

At almost 750,000 miles away from its planet of origin Earth, the Chinese spacecraft Tianwen-1 captured a stunning view of the Earth and moon as it aced its first trajectory correction maneuver on its Martian journey. China’s spacecraft bound for Mars speed away in the space with its orbiter, lander, and rover. While the rover’s landing attempt is estimated to occur around April or May 2021, the vehicle will start orbiting the Red Planet in February 2021, according to China National Space Administration’s release. On July 27, NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office observed the Tianwen-1 vehicle as it was running a program to scan large patches of the sky for astronomers to map the object’s path at a facility at Mauna Loa on Hawaii Island. The observatory was working on Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) which identifies celestial objects in the space. At the time, the spacecraft was about 750,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) away from Earth, and its optical navigation sensor captured a crescent-shaped Earth and the smaller, more distant moon. The monochrome image depicts the feature of the Earth against the dark, black oceanic background. [The Earth and Moon imaged by Tianwen-1 on July 27, 2020, when it was 750,000 miles away from its planet of origin.Image: © CNSA] China Tianwen - “Heavenly Questions” pic.twitter.com/gtBnQ4VwnA — Ingenuity (@PercyMarsRover1) August 5, 2020 Read: SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Docked And Opened, NASA Astronauts Moved To Recovery Read: Trump Congratulates NASA, SpaceX On Successful Mission As US Astronauts Return Safely 20 seconds maneuver in space Tianwen-1 launched for its Mars mission on July 23 aboard Long March 5 rocket. It set on a trajectory to Mars 36 minutes later, as per CNSA. On August 1, at sharp 7:00 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) the spacecraft started 20 seconds maneuver to optimize the trajectory when it was 1,860,000 miles (3 million km) away from Earth. The stunning black and white image recorded then show the crescent moon and distant Earth captured on high- and medium-resolution cameras deployed to study Mars. [Tianwen-1: China successfully launches probe in first Mars mission. Credit: CNSA] Elysium Mons for rover's landing Tianwen-1 which translates to "questions to heaven" was launched from Wenchang on Hainan Island, as per a report published in the journal Nature Astronomy which was composed by team members of China's Tianwen-1 Mars mission. China has isolated an area stretching from Isidis Planitia across to the big volcano Elysium Mons for the landing where NASA's Viking 2 lander touched down in 1976. According to the study, China’s rover will operate for at least 90 Martian days and as of now, it’s the 20th lunar day on the moon. On July 23rd China successfully launched it's Mars rover Tianwen-1. The target location for the Chinese mission will be a flat plain within the Utopia impact basin just north of Mars' equator. For more https://t.co/nOL2w63cA4#madeinchinamovie #space #madeinchina #china pic.twitter.com/SWIJOP6jue — Bryan Zellerman (@FilmMadeInChina) August 5, 2020 Read: Johnson And Johnson's Nasal Spray Approved To Treat Actively Suicidal People Read: NASA Launched First Satellite Into Lunar Orbit From Manned Spacecraft On This Day In 1971

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Mars bound spacecraft Tianwen-1 captures stunning pics of Earth and Moon

While the rover’s landing attempt is estimated to occur around April or May 2021, the vehicle will start orbiting the Red Planet Mars in February 2021.

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