Tianwen-1

 

Tianwen-1, The Chinese spacecraft, launched on 23, July 2020  has sent its first picture of Mars and according to  Chinese National Space Administration is expected to enter Mars orbit around 10 February. 

The black and white photo below was taken from about 2.2 million kilometres away from the Red Planet and shows some  geological features such as the Schiaparelli crater, an impact crater on Mars which is 461 kilometres in diameter  and the Valles Marineris,  a vast stretch of canyons on the Martian surface. Tianwen-1 includes a Mars orbiter, lander, and a rover that will study the planet’s soil. This mission is China’s second attempt to reach Mars after its previous mission from 2011 ended prematurely as the launch failed. 

Tianwen-1 proves  that The Red Dragon finally joins to the space race and due to ambitious plans including assembling a space station in Earth orbit by 2022 and billions of dollars to spend China may become the new front-runner to colonise Mars.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/06/tianwen1-probe-sends-back-its-first-picture-of-mars