China has landed its first rover on Mars – here’s what happens next

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01301-7

by gmays • 5 years ago

30 24 5 years ago

nature.com

dham• 5 years ago

Bringing back Battle Bots?

ant6n3• 5 years ago

That’s a click bait title, I’m afraid to click.

thehappypm2• 5 years ago

How is it click bait? The headline is literally telling you exactly the contents of the article.

ant6n3• 5 years ago

"Here's what happens next"

ChemSpider• 5 years ago

The touchdown was three (earth) days ago. I am surprised that so far _nothing_ has happened. No image or data published?

Is that normal or the sign of not-yet-admitted problems?

JoshIsACowboy2• 5 years ago

If this was NASA, the silence would be an ominous sign. NASA (JPL) typically sends back a picture ASAP because they live stream the whole event and know the world is watching. NASA loves press, and is very good at it. Unsurprisingly, China is being much more secretive. I don't think three days of silence is indicative of anything. This is their first rover. I'm sure they're taking their time. If a few weeks from now we still haven't received pictures or data, I'll start to suspect a failure.

908B64B1972• 5 years ago

Unsurprisingly, China is being much more secretive.

But why?

bsder• 5 years ago

Unsurprisingly, China is being much more secretive. I don't think three days of silence is indicative of anything. This is their first rover.

This. Mars missions have a very high probability of failure.

Nobody in China is going to get a huge benefit from livestreaming the success but they would get a huge downside for livestreaming the failure.

intsunny• 5 years ago

Rather sure the intelligence agencies know. They would just scan the spectrum looking for communications from Mars.

childintime• 5 years ago

Pics or it didn't happen [0].

https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/completed-missions/pic...

knolax• 5 years ago

Dumb expression. CGI is cheap and easy. A Mars rover is easy to detect by other nation-states.

publicola1990• 5 years ago

I do hope that imagery from the Orbiter would be made available publicly, more information to map the Martian surface can only be helpful.

EastToWest• 5 years ago

Fun facts:

  1. Mars is 火星 ("Planet of Fire") in Chinese.
  2. 祝融 Zhurong, as mentioned in the article, is the god of fire in Chinese mythology.

JoshIsACowboy2• 5 years ago

Humanity appears to have gone three for three in this Martian launch window with missions from NASA, China, and the UAE. An incredible achievement!

underseacables• 5 years ago

Tbh I was hoping for Mars battle bot, but this is cool too.

EricE• 5 years ago

The mission “is a big leap for China because they are doing in a single go what NASA took decades to do”, says Roberto Orosei, a planetary scientist at the Institute of Radioastronomy of Bologna in Italy.

Passing a test is always easier when you copy off of the smart guy sitting next to you :p

andyana• 5 years ago

Because USA #1?

jpseawell• 5 years ago

Interplanetary battle bots

China has landed its first rover on Mars – here’s what happens next

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