China's Mars orbiter enters remote-sensing orbit

BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's Mars orbiter entered its remote-sensing orbit around Mars on Monday, starting the global remote-sensing exploration of the planet, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

The CNSA said the orbit was set according to the needs of the orbiter in conducting global detection and relaying communications between the Mars rover and Earth.

The seven scientific payloads aboard the Tianwen-1 orbiter will obtain scientific data relating to morphology and geological structure, surface material composition and soil type distribution, the atmospheric ionosphere and the space environment of Mars.

To date, the orbiter has worked in orbit for 473 days. The rover has worked on the Martian surface for 174 Martian days, with a total distance moved of 1,253 meters. The two are in good condition and all systems are working normally, the CNSA added.