China's programme to launch a mission to Mars in 2020 is "well underway", its top planner said Wednesday as the country moves forward with its ambitious space programme.

The probe will carry 13 types of payload including six rovers, the official Xinhua news agency said.

"The Mars exploration programme is well underway," it cited the mission's chief architect Zhang Rongqiao as saying.

"The payloads will be used to collect data on the environment, morphology, surface structure and atmosphere of Mars."

Zhang was speaking at the Beijing International Forum on Lunar and Deep-space Exploration, which began Wednesday.

The Long March-5 carrier rocket will blast off from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in the tropical island province of Hainan, Xinhua said.

Once the probe is in orbit around Mars after a seven-month journey, a lander will separate from it and touch down in the red planet's northern hemisphere.

The lander will then deploy rovers to explore the surface.

Beijing sees its multi-billion-dollar space programme as a symbol of its rise and of the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.

In July it successfully launched the Long March-4B, its first X-ray space telescope to study black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts.

And in April the country's first cargo spacecraft completed its docking with an orbiting space lab -- a key development in China's goal of having its own crewed space station by 2022.

Tweet

Chinese company eyes development of reusable launch vehicle
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 19, 2017
One of Chinese startups appears to be following in the footsteps of SpaceX as it has lately laid out its own project of reusable space launch system. Link Space, the country's first private rocket company, has recently presented the design of its New Line 1 (also known as Xin Gan Xian 1) launch vehicle, which could compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9 in the future. Link Space uncovered the desi ... read more

Related Links
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only