China's 1st Mars Rover Takes 'Selfies' in Space

BEIJING (Sputnik) - The China National Space Administration on Thursday published pictures of its first Mars rover, Tianwen-1, which have been made by the spacecraft itself en route to the Red Planet.
Sputnik

According to the agency, the first selfies were made during the flight in deep space. The photos show the rover with the national flag of China on its outer hull.

Tianwen-1 was successfully launched from the Wenchang site on the southern island province of Hainan on 23 July. As of 1 October, the rover has travelled 1.88 million kilometres (1.2 million miles), and all systems are operating normally.

It will take an estimated seven months to reach the Mars surface. If the mission is successful, it will send the collected data to Earth in 2021.

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