Foreign news

Tianwen-1: China successfully launches probe in first Mars mission

Published

5 years ago

July 25, 2020

China launched a Mars probe on Thursday, aiming to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission, and taking the first step in its planetary exploration of the solar system.

A Long March-5 rocket, China’s largest launch vehicle so far, carrying the spacecraft with a mass of about five tonnes, soared into the sky after the take-off at 12:41 p.m. BJT from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of south China’s island province Hainan.

About 36 minutes later, the spacecraft, including an orbiter and a rover, was sent into the Earth-Mars transfer orbit, embarking on an almost seven-month journey to the red planet, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The journey to Mars will take six to seven months and the probe is expected to reach the Red Planet around February 2021.

After it enters Mars orbit, it will spend two to three months surveying potential landing sites using a high-resolution camera to prepare for the landing in May.

After landing, a rover will be released to conduct scientific exploration with an expected lifespan of at least 90 Martian days (about three months on Earth), and the orbiter, with a design life of one Martian year (about 687 days on Earth), will relay communications for the rover while conducting its own scientific detection.

The mission will study the Red Planet’s morphology and geological structure, soil characteristics and distribution of surface water ice, surface material composition, atmospheric ionosphere and surface climate and environment, as well as physical field and internal structure of Mars, said Liu Tongjie, spokesperson of China’s first Mars mission and deputy director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center.

It will help China achieve a significant technological leap in the field of its deep space exploration and establishes an independent deep-space exploration engineering system to promote sustainable development in this field, according to Liu.

The mission has attracted the active participation of institutions and organizations from home and abroad, including the European Space Agency, the French National Center for Space Studies, and Argentina’s National Space Activities Commission.

The curtain of Mars exploration missions have been liftoff with the launch of “Hope”, the United Arab Emirates’s spacecraft, in Japan three days ago. What’s next after China’s Tianwen-1 is the U.S. “Mars 2020” mission, which is slated for July 30.

Mars is one of the planets in the solar system that is closest to the Earth and has the most similarities to our natural environment. The red planet has always been one of the destinations in humans’ space adventures.

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Foreign news

NTAC Hails Tinubu; Volunteers Ready to Positively Impact Nigerians

Published

18 hours ago

June 4, 2025

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) has commended President Bola Tinubu for funding the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) Scheme.

The Director General (DG) of NTAC , Dr Yusuf Yakub, made the commendation during a ceremony to receive five returning TAC volunteers from Zanzibar, Tanzania on Tuesday in Abuja.
The returning volunteers also expressed readiness to impact knowledge gained from participating in the programme on Nigerians.

TAC is a mechanism for Nigeria’s foreign aid and technical assistance to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries through the use of Nigeria’s abundant trained manpower.

Yakub lauded Tinubu’s visionary leadership and steadfast support for the TAC Scheme.

Welcoming the volunteers who had discharged themselves as worthy ambassadors in Zanzibar, the D-G thanked them for their patriotism, dedication to service and for making Nigeria proud on the international arena.

The NTAC boss highlighted the importance of knowledge-sharing, while announcing that certificates of completion will be presented to the volunteers in line with the noble objectives of the service.

He also emphasised the volunteers’ crucial role in passing on the skills and experiences gained in Zanzibar.

He expressed optimism that their efforts would positively impact the lives of Nigerians across the country and shape the expectations and service-delivery of future prospective volunteers.

Earlier speaking, Amb. Zakari Usman, the Director of Programmes for NTAC, expressed gratitude to the D-G for his unwavering support and provision for the volunteers throughout their service period.
He said that the volunteers had so delivered on the mandate of the agency that citizens of Zanzibar did not want them to leave their country.
Popoola Adegoke, the Team Lead and a Mathematics Instructor for the batch of returning volunteers, was full of gratitude to the Federal Government for providing them the opportunity to participate in the scheme.

Adegoke said that Nigeria, was well blessed and had the abundance of both human and natural resources to contribute meaningfully to the development of many countries of the world.

He said that the need to continue the TAC Scheme was not negotiable, owing to its high impact and results.

Mohammed Salisu, a Physicist, said that the experience had broadened his horizon as his orientation during the last 24 months in Zanzibar, especially on the cultural exchange.

He lauded the government for the scheme, saying that Nigeria is seen and perceived to be higher in all ranking, especially in the standard of living and educational system.

He also appealed to the government to sustain the scheme to close the gaps both the educational and professional systems in the African, Caribbean and the Pacific Countries.
NAN

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