China drops wild video of its first Mars probe orbiting the Red Planet

China's space agency has released a stunning video of its first Mars probe orbiting the Red Planet in celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The China National Space Administration has released the footage of the Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter making its journey around the Red Planet. The video is a selfie of the spacecraft and displays its body, engines, solar array as well as some of the surface of Mars making an appearance in the background.

After launching from China in July 2020 and arriving at Mars in February 2021, the Tianwen-1 probe has been observing the Red Planet for a whole year along with its lander and rover counterparts that are exploring the Martian surface.

The China Xinhua News writes "China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 extended festival greetings to the Chinese people with stunning video footage captured by a camera on its orbiter to snap selfies above the red planet China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 extended festival greetings to the Chinese people with stunning video footage captured by a camera on its orbiter to snap selfies above the red planet."

In other space news involving China, the nation recently displayed an alarming leap in space technology, which has now caused the Vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, General Thompson, to say that China is a "tremendous threat" when it comes to space operations.

Read more: China displays an alarming leap in space tech, US watches in awe