Mars probe set for Oct launch

The nation's first Mars probe will have to stand the test of nearly nine hours in the freezing, dark shadow of the red planet during its one-year mission - the longest such period in exploration history - the scientist in charge of the probe's design has said.

During the 8.8 hour windows which occur in Yinghuo-1's Mars mission, the solar panel cannot receive any sunlight for generating power, Chen Changya, a researcher with the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering, was quoted by Zhejiang Daily as saying.

To conserve energy, part of the facilities on board will have to be switched off, and the probe will restart the facilities when the probe enters into sunshine, Chen said.