The National Space Administration confirmed that in the early hours of Saturday the spacecraft began to descend from its oorbit and the entry capsule with the lander separated from the orbiter in the middle of the morning. After several maneuvers, the craft touched the surface.

‘It was extremely complicated without ground control and had to be steered by the spacecraft autonomously. Each step had only one chance to go and each action was closely linked,’ the space command center highlighted.

‘If there had been any misshap, the landing would have failed,’ explained Geng Yan, an administration official.

Chinese President Xi Jinping greeted the operation and considered it a milestone for the country in the development of its space sector that will always be remembered.

Tianwen-1 arrived on Mars three months after entering its orbit and 10 months after its launching into space.

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