China is celebrating its Lunar New Year with a special gift to the public.
It posted a quick video of its Mars orbiter, Tianwen-1, on its space mission. The video shows off a good snapshot of the spacecraft and the Red Planet.
Most space fans probably know that China space missions are typically kept confidential.
The country only releases information about its launches and spacecraft, but never anything about its findings and mission details.
So, it comes as a pleasant surprise when China finally released a Tianwen-1 selfie clip.
The video was posted on Twitter by China Xinhua News.
China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 extended festival greetings to the Chinese people with stunning video footage captured by a camera on its orbiter to snap selfies above the red planet on Monday, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year https://t.co/6lCYTk7zEf pic.twitter.com/GfSe3tBZEJ
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) January 31, 2022
Tianwen-1 Mars Clip and Video
According to The Verge, Tianwen-1 has been circling Mars for nearly a year now.
It was launched from Earth in July 2020 and inserted itself into Mars' orbit in February 2021. Note that Tianwen-1 came to Mars with a lander and a rover.
Tianwen-1 is also China's first space mission on the Red Planet.
As previously mentioned, not many details are available on the Tianwen-1 space mission. But given the nature of its machinery, it is likely an orbiter that observes Mars' atmosphere and topography.
All data gathered are probably compiled and sent back to Earth ground control.
On the video clip uploaded on Monday, Jan. 31, viewers can see the Tianwen-1 in the middle of its orbit. The video also does a great job of featuring the spacecraft's body, engines, and solar array.
Lastly, Mars' surface is clearly visible on the 30-second time marker.
Fans interested on the Tianwen-1 are recommended to watch out for updates on the China Xinhua News.
Hopefully, more details might be revealed later this year.
Read Also: ESA Astronaut Captures Stunning Images of Earth From the ISS; How to Track The ISS
Chinese New Year: Tianwen-1 Photos
Although scarce, there are also other photos teased for China's space missions.
Journalist Andrew Jones compiled some of these photos in a Twitter thread. One of Jones' posts features three photos of the Tianwen-1 on Mars orbit.
Wow! This is yet another surprise from the Tianwen-1 mission. The orbiter had apparently released a small sub satellite while in Mars orbit, returning these outrageous images. [CNSA/CLEP/PEC] https://t.co/hPezkaDOgn pic.twitter.com/b22JvIQgAb
— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) January 1, 2022
Another post shows three images taken by the Zhurong rover, which were stitched together to form a panoramic view.
China has pulled this kind of trick before, releasing a small camera on deep space to image Tianwen-1 and Zhurong rover in its shell. But that was back in October 2020. Tianwen-1 has been in Mars orbit since Feb. 2021... https://t.co/0GI4I8wc4b pic.twitter.com/cMLkmwuEWj
— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) January 1, 2022
Lastly, a photo of the Tianwen-1 while it was still on its vehicle shell was also posted.
Mysterious Object in Space Leaves Astronomers Scratching Their Head
On a different topic, space fans might be interested in another mysterious discovery.
Astronomers recently spotted a "strange object" that gives off three powerful bursts of energy every hour. Researchers theorize this might be an ultra-long period magnetar, which is the first to be discovered.
The strange object is officially called GLEAM-XJ162759.5-523504.
Researchers on the topic encourage other interested fans to observe the phenomena and help compile more data about it. Full details for this discovery are available in this article.
Related Article: Radian Aerospace Confirms It's Building a Single-Stage-To-Orbit Spaceplane: The Next Generation of Space Travel?
