Satellite orbiting Mars captures awesome photos of itself and Mars

The Chinese Tianwen 1 satellite orbiting Mars has captured selfies showing its current state, with the Red Planet lurking behind.

Adam Hunt

@AdamHuntTT

Published Jan 4, 2022 4:00 AM CST
Updated Jan 27, 2022 2:44 PM CST

39 seconds read time

China's Tianwen 1 satellite orbiting Mars has captured some awesome new selfies.

Satellite orbiting Mars captures awesome photos of itself and Mars 01

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The China National Space Administration (CNSA) published new images showing the satellite over Mars' north pole. The Tianwen 1 was able to take the photo by jettisoning a small camera outside of the orbiter, which took the images and transmitted them back to the satellite over Wi-Fi.

The satellite has been orbiting Mars since February 2021, after delivering the Zhurong rover to the planet and releasing it to land on the surface. On its way to Mars, the Tianwen 1 took similar photos as it traveled through space, capturing images of itself with the Zhurong rover still accompanying it.

"The orbiter is currently orbiting Mars in very good condition. We can see our orbiter flying around Mars in a working state, and we can clearly see the solar panel wings, directional antenna and some of the antenna facilities in orbit," said Sun Zezhou, Tianwen 1 chief system designer.