China Mars Probe

The timing is not a coincidence. It's driven by celestial mechanics. At their closest, the Earth (third planet from the Sun) and Mars (fourth planet) are "merely" 56-65 million km apart

That follows the landing of the U.S. Perseverance rover last Thursday near an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life

Tianwen-1 reached Mars' orbit, Chinese state media reported at 8:57 pm. Beijing time on Wednesday

It was about 130 million km from Earth and about 8.3 million km from Mars, according to the China National Space Administration

The probe conducted the orbital correction at 7 a.m. (Beijing Time) after its 3000N engine worked for 20 seconds, and continued to head for Mars

The rover Perseverance will follow China's rover-orbiter combo and a United Arab Emirates orbiter, both launched last week

Eight spacecraft - American, European and Indian - are either orbiting Mars or on its surface with other missions underway or planned

Approved by Chinese authorities in January 2016, Tianwen translates to "questions about the heavens"

Perseverance remains crucial in exploring the mysteries around Mars

China looks to catch up with India, the US and Russia in sending probes to Mars

Launch vehicle is slated to make a maiden flight later this year