Tianwen 1 is 1st Chinese spacecraft to reach Mars

Meaning "quest for heavenly truth" in Chinese, Tianwen is named after a long poem written by famous ancient poet Qu Yuan of the Kingdom of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry, especially through poems in the anthology Chu Ci anthology, or Songs of Chu.

The 5-metric ton probe, which consists of two major parts－the orbiter and the landing capsule－had flown for 202 days and about 475 million km on its journey to Mars before its arrival. The average flight speed was about 100,000 kilometers per hour.

As of Wednesday night, it was around 192 million km from Earth and was in good condition, the space administration said in a statement.

During its journey, the spacecraft conducted four midcourse corrections and a deep-space orbital maneuver to make sure it was always precisely aimed at Mars.