The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Space => Topic started by: Elderberry on July 23, 2020, 11:07:55 pm
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NBC News 7/23/2020
China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet.
Engines blazing orange, a Long March-5 carrier rocket took off under clear skies around 12:40 p.m. from Hainan Island, south of China’s mainland. Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out excitedly on a beach across the bay from the launch site.
“This is a kind of hope, a kind of strength,†said Li Dapeng, co-founder of the China branch of the Mars Society, an international enthusiast group. He wore a Mars Society T shirt, and was there with his wife, 11-year-old son and 2,000 others on the beach to watch the launch.
It marked the second flight to Mars this week, after a United Arab Emirates orbiter blasted off on a rocket from Japan on Monday. And the U.S. is aiming to launch Perseverance, its most sophisticated Mars rover ever, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next week.
More: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/china-launches-ambitious-attempt-land-rover-mars-rcna59 (https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/china-launches-ambitious-attempt-land-rover-mars-rcna59)