05/24/2021

As China's Tianwen-1[1] lander and Zhurung rover separated over the Martian surface, at least one radio amateur - Edgar Kaiser, DF2MZ, in Germany - was able to note the separation. The vehicle used a combination of a protective capsule, a parachute, and a rocket platform to make the descent.

The Tianwen-1 orbiter remains in orbit, equipped with a high-resolution camera, a magnetometer, a spectrometer, and a subsurface radar. The lander touched down in Utopia Planitia, a massive impact basin that may have once contained an ocean and is thought to have buried ice[2]. In February, Canadian radio amateur Scott Tilley, VE7TIL, was able to copy the signal from Tianwen-1, which went into orbit around Mars on February 10. - Thanks to The Orbital Index


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianwen-1
[2] https://orbitalindex.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e215b9e6f9a105b2c34f627a3&id=822727b474&e=91ab698cb5

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