China releases high
Black-and-white picture of Mars taken by Tianwen 1. (Photo provided by CNSA)
BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Thursday published high-resolution images of Mars captured by the country's Tianwen-1 probe.
These images include two panchromatic images and one color image, said the CNSA.
The panchromatic images were taken by the high-resolution camera of Tianwen-1 at a distance of 330 to 350 km above the surface of Mars, with a resolution of about 0.7 meters.
In the images, Martian landforms such as small craters, mountain ridges and dunes are clearly visible. It is estimated that the diameter of the largest impact crater in the images is around 620 meters.
The color image is of the red planet's North Pole region taken by the medium-resolution camera, the CNSA said.
The high-resolution camera, medium-resolution camera, spectrometer and other scientific apparatus onboard the orbiter were switched on successively to collect data.
The medium-resolution camera is capable of both automatic exposure and remote-control exposure, enabling it to map remote-sensing images of the whole globe of Mars and to survey the planet's topography.
China launched Tianwen-1 on July 23, 2020. The spacecraft, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, entered the parking orbit around Mars after performing an orbital maneuver on Feb. 24.
Tianwen-1 probe has been conducting scientific surveys since Feb. 26.
Black-and-white picture of Mars taken by Tianwen 1. (Photo provided by CNSA)