Full Version: A Chinese mission to Mars...?
Sounds like one is planned...
Next year already! It looks like it's been planned for a while then. And so far, China has been pretty good in actually doing what they say the will do. Very interesting...!
During the press conference in BAS it was confirmed that China will send an orbiter around Mars during the Phobos-Grunt mission. And yes, this is one of the things that can put off the launch till 2011.
already discussed in Phobos-Grunt topic two years ago:
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...=1844&st=75
EDIT: for more details about Chinese Mars orbiter check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yinghuo-1
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...=1844&st=75
EDIT: for more details about Chinese Mars orbiter check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yinghuo-1
aaah yes I forgot about that. I imagined a stand-alone mission. d'oh 
There may be in the future, but the Chinese space program is focused on lunar exploration
Some new details about Yinghuo-1:
Link
QUOTE
designers were still puzzling over how to keep the solar-powered probe functioning during seven "long shadow periods."
The probe would have to pass through seven periods of 8.8 hours in darkness when the sun would be obscured by the red planet, with temperatures plunging to 200 degreesbelow Celsius. While it could turn itself off to conserve energy, the concern was that it might "freeze to death" and not be able to turn itself back on.
The probe would have to pass through seven periods of 8.8 hours in darkness when the sun would be obscured by the red planet, with temperatures plunging to 200 degreesbelow Celsius. While it could turn itself off to conserve energy, the concern was that it might "freeze to death" and not be able to turn itself back on.
Link
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