In 2016, China's Mars exploration mission was approved for establishment, and it is planned to carry out its first independent Mars exploration in 2020, the year of the conclusion of the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan. At present, China is pushing forward this major space project as planned, with the aim of launching the Mars probe into the sky in July this year.
The Chinese Mars rover and the Long March 5 launch vehicle were developed by the fifth and first institutes of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, respectively.
Bao Weimin, Director of the Science and Technology Committee of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, recently introduced the Mars Exploration Mission “Tianwen 1”.
The mission plans to achieve multiple engineering objectives through a single launch, including Mars orbiting and landing surveys, global and integrated exploration of Mars, and a fine survey of key areas of the Martian surface.
The mission sets five scientific objectives, mainly related to the study of the space environment, physical features, surface structure, etc.
To achieve these scientific goals, the Mars rover was designed as both an orbiter and a landing craft.
During the mission, the rover will make a soft landing on the surface of Mars and release the rover Mars rover for exploration on the surface of Mars; the orbiter will fly around Mars to provide relay communications services for the mission and to wait for the orbiting probe.
The mission carries a total of 13 payloads, including 7 for the orbiter and 6 for the Mars rover.
This year is a window period for Mars exploration activities. Following the announcement of the postponement of the launch of the European-Russian ExoMars Mars rover, there are still the United States' Yili Mars rover, the UAE's Hope Mars rover and China's SkyQuest-1 Mars mission remaining for launch this year.
During this year's China Space Day, the China National Space Administration announced that China's planetary exploration mission was named "Tianwen Series", and that China is currently conducting key technology research to promote the implementation of deep space exploration projects. It is expected that around 2030, China's planetary exploration missions will include Mars sampling returns, asteroid exploration, Jupiter system exploration, etc.
