China launches ambitious Tianwen-1 Mars rover mission
China’s first fully homegrown Mars mission is on its way to the Red Planet. The Tianwen-1 mission launched atop a Long March 5 rocket from Hainan Island’s Wenchang Satellite Launch Center this morning (July 23) at 12:41 a.m. EDT (0441 GMT). Tianwen-1 consists of an orbiter and a lander/rover duo, a combination of craft that…