Tianwen-1 Orbiter

Tianwen-1

Agency

CNSA

Country

🇨🇳 China

Launched

2020-07-23

Status

Ongoing

Mass

~3,175 kg (complete spacecraft stack including lander and Zhurong rover)

Instruments

7 instruments across orbiter and lander

Orbiter: MoRIC medium-res camera, HiRIC high-res camera, Mars Magnetometer, Mars Mineralogy Spectrometer, Mars Ion and Neutral Particle Analyzer, Mars Energetic Particle Analyzer, Mars Magnetometer

Orbit

Relay/science orbit after lander separation: ~265 × 11,900 km elliptical

Key Findings

1.China's first Mars mission — made China the second nation to successfully land a rover on Mars (Zhurong, May 2021)
2.HiRIC high-resolution camera provided sub-metre surface imagery supporting lander site selection in Utopia Planitia
3.Ground-penetrating radar aboard Zhurong rover detected layered subsurface structure down to 80 m depth, suggesting multiple ancient flood or volcanic deposition events
4.Tianwen-1 demonstrated China's capability to execute a complete Mars orbiter-lander-rover mission in a single flight — a technical milestone not previously achieved

Mission Outcome

Tianwen-1 entered Mars orbit on February 10, 2021, and successfully deployed the Zhurong rover to the surface of Utopia Planitia on May 15, 2021. The orbiter continues to relay science data and conduct independent remote-sensing observations as of 2026. The mission established China as the second nation to operate a rover on Mars.

Sources

[1] NASA NSSDCA — retrieved 2026-06-01
“Tianwen-1 is China's first Mars exploration mission, designed to study the Martian soil, geological structure, environment, atmosphere, and water.”
[2] China National Space Administration (CNSA) — retrieved 2026-06-01

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