Tianwen-1 probe enters orbit around Mars in China’s second attempt to send a mission to the Red Planet

China’s Tianwen-1 probe has successfully entered orbit around Mars after a nearly seven-month voyage from Earth.

China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) said the spaceship began decelerating on its approach to the Red Planet on Wednesday evening, Beijing time.

After about 15 minutes, the spacecraft, including an orbiter, a lander and a rover, had slowed enough to be captured by Mars’s gravity and entered an elliptical orbit, with its closest distance from the Martian surface at about 400 kilometres.