China to Launch Mars Probe in July... "Plans to Send Exploration Robot to Mars Surface"

[Image source= China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) website/https://spacechina.com]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] China announced that it will launch a Mars probe in July, officially entering the Mars exploration race vigorously pursued by major powers such as the United States and Russia. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, China strongly expressed its determination for space dominance. China plans to equip the launch vehicle with a Mars exploration robot and actively engage in Mars orbit flight, landing, and exploration.

According to the state-run Global Times on the 24th, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced plans to launch a Mars probe in July. As the first project of this Mars exploration, China decided to launch the Mars probe using the domestically developed Long March-5B rocket. The probe involved in this project consists of two parts: an orbiter responsible for the landing mission and a rover tasked with exploration.

Named "Tianwen-1," this project aims to study Mars' environment, surface features, and subsurface structure. CASC introduced that the mission will comprehensively carry out Mars orbit flight, landing, and exploration, with a primary focus on exploring key sites on Mars.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 situation, as advanced countries rush to explore Mars, the Chinese government is also pushing forward with Mars exploration accordingly. According to the Global Times, besides China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plan to embark on Mars exploration in July this year. The Mars exploration project jointly conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia has been postponed to 2022.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.