China's Tianwen-1 Orbiter Snaps New Picture Of Mars' Larger Moon Phobos From 5,100km Away
- ranchifarida
- Jul 26, 2022
- 1 min read
China's Mars Orbiter, which was launched under the Tianwen-1 mission, has beamed back a high-resolution image of Phobos, one of the red planet's two Moons after Deimos. The mission was launched by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on July 23, 2020, and comprised of an orbiter, a lander and a rover that were assigned specific tasks. The CNSA recently announced that its orbiter completed the primary objective, which was mapping the entire surface of Mars.
After transmitting a slew of new images, the orbiter has now sent Phobos' picture that was captured from a distance of 5,100 kilometers. According to Space.com's report, the picture was released by CNSA and the Planetary Exploration of China (PEC) to mark the second anniversary of Tianwen-1. The mission experts have marked out the Öpik Crater, on Phobos, which has been named after Estonian astronomer and astrophysicist Ernst Öpik.
Most recently, Phobos was in the headlines owing to the stunning eclipse captured by NASA's Perseverance rover. The rover shot Phobos transiting the sun during the event that lasted for a total of 40 seconds.
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