FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Animations showing rocket launching; separation of carrier rocket, Mars probe; probe in space

Beijing, China - Aug 19, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Chuang, chief designer of Tianwen-1 (starting with shot 1/ending with shot 3):
"So far everything is good. At present, we are concerned about its 'health condition' during the flight, and will conduct regular checkups on it."

FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Animations showing China's Mars probe in space
4. Photo showing illustration of orbital corrections, space maneuvers of probe

Beijing, China - Aug 19, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Chuang, chief designer of Tianwen-1 (starting with shot 4):
"As the probe gets farther and farther, the latency time in its communications will consequently be longer. When it approaches Mars, its one-way delay is usually more than 10 or nearly 20 minutes. So it sets rigid requirements on the autonomous functions of the probe."

FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Animations showing probe's track in space

Beijing, China - Aug 19, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Chuang, chief designer of Tianwen-1 (starting with shot 6/ending with shot 8):
"Affected by factors including the rocket launching and some deviations in orbit, the probe will have a certain deviation from the theoretical orbit. Adjusting it to the predetermined track is one of the purposes of midway corrections."

FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Animations showing probe in space, flying towards Mars
9. Animations showing scientific instruments on China's Mars probe

China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 will conduct the second orbital correction in September while it is flying away from the Earth in normal conditions, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Tianwen-1 completed the self-test of its scientific instruments, including Mars magnetometer, Mars mineralogy spectrometer and two remote-sensing cameras on Wednesday, which are all in normal conditions, according to the CNSA.

"So far everything is good. At present, we are concerned about its 'health condition' during the flight, and will conduct regular checkups on it," said Wang Chuang,

Currently Tianwen-1 is moving away from the earth at a speed of about 300,000 kilometers per day. As of 23:20 on Aug. 19, it had traveled 8.23 million kilometers.

Since the successful launch of the probe on July 23, the development team has been monitoring it round the clock at the flight control center in Beijing.

"As the probe gets farther and farther, the latency time in its communications will consequently be longer. When it approaches Mars, its one-way delay is usually more than 10 or nearly 20 minutes. So it sets rigid requirements on the autonomous functions of the probe," said Wang.

Wang said the current time delay in communication is about 30 seconds.

According to CNSA, Tianwen-1 will perform four orbital corrections and one deep-space maneuver before reaching Mars. The probe completed its first orbital correction on Aug. 2 and the development team said it will proceed with the second orbital correction in September to ensure the probe will be flying accurately in the predetermined orbit.

"Affected by factors including the rocket launching and some deviations in orbit, the probe will have a certain deviation from the theoretical orbit. Adjusting it to the predetermined track is one of the purposes of midway corrections," said Wang.

China launched the Mars probe on July 23, designed to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission, taking the first step in its planetary exploration of the solar system.

The Mars probe is expected to reach the red planet around February 2021. After entering the orbit, it will spend another two to three months surveying the candidate landing sites before landing.