China's Mars probe captures first image of Mars

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Friday released the first image of Mars captured by the country's Mars probe Tianwen-1.

The image was captured from a distance of 2.2 million km from Mars, said the CNSA.

The probe conducted its fourth orbital correction on Friday at 8 p.m. (Beijing time), aiming to ensure that the probe achieves a sound planned rendezvous with Mars.

The probe has traveled about 197 days in orbit, flying about 465 million km. It is currently 184 million km from Earth and 1.1 million km from Mars. All probe systems are in good working condition, the CNSA said.

China launched the Mars probe on July 23, 2020. It was designed to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission.

The probe completed its first orbital correction on Aug. 2, its second on Sept. 20 and its third on Oct. 28.