China's Mars orbiter sends back selfie video on Lunar New Year eve

BEIJING - China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 extended festival greetings to the Chinese people with stunning video footage captured by a camera on its orbiter to snap selfies above the red planet on Monday, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The video published by the China National Space Administration showed that the orbiter's 3000N engine, propellant tank, attitude control engine and other components were all in good conditions.

It also offered a view of the sun's reflection casting on the orbiter, a Chinese national flag shining on the spacecraft and the ice cap on the red planet's north pole.

As of Monday, the Tianwen-1 orbiter has been working in orbit for 557 days at a distance of around 325 million km from Earth.

The Mars rover Zhurong has been operating for 255 Martian days and has driven a total of 1,524 meters on the surface of the planet.

Since its launch on July 23, 2020, the Mars mission has sent back 600 GB of raw scientific data, according to the space administration.

The Tianwen-1 will soon have its first anniversary in orbit, as it reached Mars on Feb 10 last year.