[Correspondent Diary] China’s Mars Rover: A Future Version of US-China Conflict

The Opening Act of US-China Space Hegemony Competition
Deng Xiaoping Admired US Space Science and Technology... China’s Space Science Approaches in 40 Years

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] In January 1979, Deng Xiaoping visited the United States and inspected major industrial facilities. Behind his political move of wearing a cowboy hat and watching a rodeo game (signaling the end of the Cold War) was the intention to directly observe the advanced industries of the United States.

One of these was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Deng Xiaoping visited NASA and was impressed by the United States' space science technology. The U.S. was the first country in human history to leave footprints on the moon's surface in 1969. In 1976, it landed the Mars probe "Viking 2" on the surface of Mars. At that time, China had no significant achievements in the space field other than the satellite "Dongfanghong (東方紅) 1," launched in 1970.

China's aspiration for space began in earnest with the launch of the manned spacecraft "Shenzhou (神舟) 5" in 2003. The Chinese government has set a vision to "build a space economic zone encompassing the Earth and the Moon" by 2050 and is pouring enormous amounts of money into it.

In fact, China successfully landed the lunar probe "Chang'e (嫦娥) 4" on the far side of the moon in January last year. China is the only country to have explored the moon's far side.

China has once again demonstrated its passion and determination for space. On the 23rd at 12:41 PM (local time), China launched the Mars probe "Tianwen (天問) 1." Whether the probe will successfully enter Mars' orbit and whether the lander will properly land on Mars' surface to send information back to Earth remains uncertain.

The United States is also sending its sixth probe, "Perseverance," to Mars around the end of this month. The arrival times of the Chinese and American probes on Mars (February to March next year) are similar. If both the U.S. and Chinese probes succeed in landing, or if only one of the two countries succeeds, numerous discussions are inevitable.

Of course, it is true that the U.S. is far ahead of China in space exploration capabilities and technology. Perseverance is tasked with collecting soil samples on Mars and bringing them back to Earth. China's space technology has not yet reached this level.

The timing of China's Mars probe launch coincides with the U.S.-China conflict. It is a matter of national pride and directly related to space hegemony. From the perspective of South Korea, which has only one independent military satellite (launched on someone else's rocket), China's Mars exploration is both enviable and frightening.

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