The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has released two new images of Mars. Images of the northern and southern hemispheres of the Red Planet were obtained from the automatic interplanetary station “Tianwen-1”.

Published images show sunlit crescent-shaped hemispheres. However, most of the planet in these images is in the shadows. The message says that both photographs were taken at a time when the probe was at an altitude of 11 thousand km above the surface of Mars and used a medium-resolution camera for this.

To date, the Tianwen-1 probe has been in Mars orbit for about a month and uses high- and medium-resolution cameras, a mineral spectrometer, a magnetometer and other equipment to conduct research. It was launched into space on July 23 last year using the Changzheng 5 launch vehicle. The spacecraft entered the elliptical orbit of Mars on February 10 of this year, and on February 24 it reached the reference orbit of the Red Planet.

It is assumed that in May-June this year, the probe will land on the surface of the planet in the southern part of Mars, after which the rover will begin research. According to available data, the rover weighs 240 kg and is equipped with a set of solar panels, and six wheels are provided for moving. It is capable of moving at a speed of up to 200 meters per hour and is equipped with various devices, including a multispectral camera, a ground penetrating radar, a meteorological sensor, etc.