BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.
MARS LANDING
A Chinese spacecraft streaked down through the Martian sky on Saturday, becoming the country’s first probe to land on a planet other than Earth.
The lander, carrying a Mars rover, touched down at its pre-selected landing area in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a vast plain on the northern hemisphere of Mars, at 7:18 a.m. (Beijing Time), the China National Space Administration announced.
TIANZHOU-2 CARGO SPACECRAFT
The combination of the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft and the Long March-7 Y3 carrier rocket has been transported to the launching area of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province on Sunday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The facilities and equipment at the launch site are in good condition, while various pre-launch function checks and joint tests will be carried out as planned, the CMSA said.
NEW AIR CARGO ROUTE
An international air freight route linking Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and Russia’s Novosibirsk has been launched.
A Boeing 767-300F aircraft loaded with 18 tonnes of goods took off from Xi’an on Friday, kicking off operations on this new air cargo route.