22 October 2021
Tianwen 1 Mars orbiter has resumed communications with Earth after the solar conjunction and will start remote sensing of Mars and data relay for the Zhurong rover in early November, the CNSA announced on 22 October. Judging from telemetry, the orbiter was in normal condition during the solar conjunction. It is the first time that the orbiter successfully survived the solar conjunction.
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24 October 2021
On 24 October 2021 at 09:27 BJT, the Shijian 21 satellite was lauched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. The satellite will be mainly used to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies. The China National Space Administration established its Space Debris Monitoring and Application Centre in June 2015. The centre is responsible for tracking waste, analyzing hazards, developing prevention and disposal plans, setting up a database and communicating with other nations and international organizations.
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25 October 2021
In this week's episode, Jean Deville and Blaine Curcio reflect on the test of the 500-t thrust solid-fueled rocket booster and give further background information. The 2 experts have a discussion over conflicting information about the hypersonic glide vehicle test and last week's FOBS test (fractional orbital bombardment system) and they also inform about the Deep-Space Exploration and Technology Application Forum in Shenzhen.
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25 October 2021
Zhurong's autonomous systems made it possible that the rover could stay for the last month without support from ground control. The designers gave Zhurong the ability to deal with complex problems autonomously. As a smart rover, it only communicates with Earth once or twice a day. It can plan its own path and avoid obstacles, and can decide when to sleep and wake up, depending on environmental changes. The communication link is established once the orbiter flies over the rover. The engineers set the algorithsm for Zhurong to calculate time based on the trajectory of sunlight.
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