Photo: China presents a miniature robotic helicopter that will support its future missions to Mars

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September 3, 2021 02:11 GMT

The drone will carry an accurate spectrophotometer, but it has not been specified for which mission it will be used.

A prototype of a “drone” designed to fly over the surface of Mars passed a final acceptance review on August 20, according to announce it This Wednesday, the National Aerospace Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Presentation New Red Planet Exploration Tool This comes months after China landed a robotic vehicle on the surface of Mars. The image of the device was posted on the Twitter account of Global Times, a Chinese state news outlet.

Spatial landmark event in May this year, under China’s first mission to MarsIt is part of the country’s ambitious future space exploration plans.

last week , róver chino ZhurongWhich weighs 240 kilograms, and is powered by solar batteries, has accomplished its energy 100th day It operates on the surface of Mars and was marked by a 1000-meter mark cut off from its landing point.

The helicopter is one of three projects in a technology development program being promoted by the National Space Science Center. It is reported that Bian Chunjiang will lead the vehicle project and that the drone will carry an accurate spectrometer. However, the statement does not specify what mission the drone will be used for.

Earlier, it was reported that Wang Xiaojun, director of the Chinese Academy of Vehicle Launch Technology, shared the “Roadmap for Human Exploration of Mars” during virtual meeting Within the framework of the World Conference on Space Exploration held in Russia.

that it Three-step strategy On the Red Planet includes robotic exploration, preliminary human exploration, and finally “routine human exploration”. As part of the plan, Wang revealed that China hopes to build a base at the site and begin developing a “large-scale Earth-to-Mars transport fleet.”