Mars mission Tianwen-1 functioning normally

The probe for China’s first Mars mission Tianwen-1 is currently more than 100 million kilometers away from Earth and is functioning normally, according to the China National Space Administration.

As of 9pm on Monday, the Mars probe had flown in space for 144 days and traveled more than 360 million km. It was more than 100 million km away from Earth and about 12 million km away from Mars.

The distance between the red planet and Earth varies periodically from 50 million to more than 400 million km. The Mars probe will likely be about 190 million km away from Earth when it reaches the vicinity of Mars.

Since it was launched by a Long March-5 rocket on July 23, the Mars probe has captured an image of both Earth and the moon and taken selfies. It has carried out three orbital corrections, a deep-space maneuver and self-checks on multiple payloads.

It will likely decelerate to enter the Mars orbit in mid-February next year, according to the administration. The spacecraft is expected to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission.