Beijing [China], September 10: China aims to launch its Mars mission, Tianwen-3, in 2028, two years earlier than originally planned.
CNN reported on September 9 that Liu Jizhong, head of the Tianwen-3 mission development team, said the plan will include two launches scheduled for 2028, with the goal of bringing back to Earth about 600 grams of Martian soil samples.
The timeline has also been changed from the original plan of 2030, showing that China is confident in its technological development capabilities to meet the mission of exploring Mars . If progress is ensured, the Tianwen-3 mission is expected to bring Mars samples back to Earth in July 2031, according to the South China Morning Post .
Namrata Goswami, a space policy researcher at Arizona State University, said that if successful, Beijing could take the lead in the race to Mars - which she said means that whichever country completes its mission to the planet will be at the forefront of space exploration .
According to Ms. Liu Jizhong, the main goal of the Tianwen-3 mission is to find life on Mars, in addition to making technical advances in collecting samples and taking off from the surface of Mars.
The mission also comes with many challenges, especially the sample return phase, which will require launching a rocket from the Martian surface. Liu added that China will participate in international cooperation around the mission, including sharing samples and data with other countries, as well as planning for future Mars research.
Previously, China successfully launched the Tianwen-1 probe in 2020, reaching Mars orbit in 2021 and deploying the Zhurong rover to the planet's surface.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper