On Thursday, July 23rd, China successfully launched its first mission to Mars. The spacecraft, named Tianwen-1, was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in southern Hainan province. The mission is expected to take around seven months with the spacecraft arriving at Mars around February 2021. The goals of the mission are to map the Martian surface, analyze soil and water samples, and study the planet’s atmosphere and climate.
If the mission is successful, China will be the second country to land a rover on Mars after the United States. This latest mission is a significant step for China’s rapidly growing space program, which has made impressive achievements in the past few years. In 2019, China became the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. With the successful launch of Tianwen-1, China is positioning itself as a significant player in the global space race alongside Russia and the United States.
UK to Exclude Huawei from Its 5G Network In other Scotland News Today, the United Kingdom has announced that it will phase out the use of Huawei equipment in its 5G network by 2027. The UK government had previously allowed Huawei to supply equipment for the country’s 5G infrastructure, but this position has changed due to concerns about the risk of Chinese espionage. The decision follows intense pressure from the United States, which has been urging its allies to exclude Huawei from their networks.
Huawei has repeatedly denied all allegations of espionage and maintains that it is a private company with no ties to the Chinese government. The UK’s decision is seen as a significant victory for the Trump administration, which has been waging a trade and tech war against China. The move may also pave the way for other countries to follow suit, potentially hurting Huawei’s future business prospects. EU Approves $860 Billion Covid-19 Recovery Package Finally, the European Union has approved a €750 billion ($860 billion) Covid-19 recovery package.
The package includes both grants and loans to help countries affected by the pandemic. It is the largest recovery package in the EU’s history and is designed to help EU member states bounce back from the economic damage caused by the Covid-19 crisis. The EU’s recovery package came after weeks of tense negotiations between member states, with some wealthy northern countries reluctant to provide grants to poorer southern countries.
The package is seen as a significant win for countries like Italy and Spain, which have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic.