Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2020 July 25

                          Tianwen-1 Mission to Mars
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

   Explanation: On July 23, this Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket rose into
   a blue morning sky from China's Hainan Island Wenchang Satellite Launch
   Center. The rocket carried an orbiter, lander, and rover to ask
   Heavenly Questions on the ambitious Tianwen-1 mission to Mars. In fact
   Tianwen-1 was the second of three missions scheduled for a July
   departure to the Red Planet. The United Arab Emirates launched its Amal
   (Hope) Mars probe on July 19. NASA's launch of its Mars Perseverance
   Rover from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA is scheduled for July
   30. That is the last planned Mars launch for 2020 though. The
   minimum-energy launch window for an expedition to Mars is coming to a
   close in 2020 and will reopen in 2022.

           Comet NEOWISE images from planet Earth: July 24, 23, 22
                    Tomorrow's picture: Hubble Ultra Deep
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.


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