China's first Mars probe will be launched atop a Russian launch
vehicle in October 2009, a senior scientist has said.
Yinghuo-1 will reach the preset circling orbit and send back the
first images of the red planet in September 2010, said Chen
Changya, a researcher with the Shanghai Institute of Satellite
Engineering.
The micro-satellite will lead the country one big step further
in its deep space exploration.
The probe's prototype is now being subject to a series of
experiments, and next May, its compatibility with the Russian
spacecraft will be tested, Chen - who is in charge of the project
developing the Mars probe - told a forum on aerospace technology in
Shanghai on Sunday.
He said that the probe will travel 350 million km in 11 months
before entering planet's orbit.
In comparison, lunar orbiter Chang'e I traveled 380,000 km
before circling around the moon. The distance between Mars and
Earth is between 56.7 million km and 400 million km, depending on
their orbital positions.
The 110-kg Mars probe will circle around the planet for one
year, though it has a designed life of two years.
It will conduct scientific exploration tasks, including
exploring the Martian space environment, and relay back the first
Mars images taken by a Chinese satellite, Chen said.
An official with the Shanghai Aerospace Bureau, surnamed Zhen,
confirmed the Mars project but added that the probe's final name
has yet to be decided.
The mission is the result of close cooperation with Russia, and
represents a "milestone" in the history of space cooperation
between the two neighbors, the China National Space Administration
(CNSA) said in a statement in March.
Earlier reports said the probe would be launched along with
"Phobos Explorer", a Russian spacecraft, atop a Russian rocket.
After entering Mars' orbit, Yinghuo-1 will be detached from the
Russian spacecraft, which will land on the Martian moon and return
to Earth with soil samples.
In 1964, the United States' fly-by Mariner 4 sent back 21 images
of Mars, the first successful exploration of the planet in human
history. In 1971, the former Soviet Union's Mars 3 orbiter sent
back data for eight months.
NASA's twin robot geologists, the Mars Exploration Rovers,
launched on June 10 and July 7, 2003, landed on Mars on January 3
and January 24, to search for and characterize a wide range of
rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars.
(China Daily December 4, 2007)