China launches new remote sensing satellite groups

The satellites of the Yaogan-53 and Yaogan-56 groups were launched at 5:00 p.m. (Beijing Time) aboard a Long March-4B carrier rocket, and they entered the preset orbits successfully.

They are primarily used for scientific experiments, land and resource surveys, crop yield estimation, and disaster prevention and reduction.

The launch marked the 666th mission of the Long March carrier rockets.

Earlier, a team from Japan's Hokkaido University announced that Mercury's radius had shrunk by over 10 kilometers as the inside of the planet cooled down.