Preparations for China’s ambitious mission to
Mars in 2020 are “going smoothly”, a top
space scientist said, as he told a forum of
the potential for “robotic and human
settlement” on the mysterious planet.
Zhang Rongqiao said China is seeking to become
the first country to conduct joint orbital and
surface exploration of Mars in a single mission.
The probe will provide invaluable data on
temperature, atmospheric conditions and
landscape, before Beijing dispatches further
missions to retrieve soil and rock samples.

Mr Zhang, the chief architect the mission, said
the probe will be made up of three parts;
orbiter, lander and rover.
“The lander will separate from the orbiter at the
end of a journey of around seven months and
touch down in a low latitude area in the
northern hemisphere of Mars where the rover
will explore the surface,” said state news agency
Xinhua .
The report said there would be 13 payloads in
the mission, including “six rovers”, although
state media have previously only reported one.

As the surface mission collects data, the orbiter
will monitor the red planet’s “atmosphere” and
“key scientific indicators” the China Daily said.
Planning for the mission “is going smoothly and
all according to plan,” Mr Zhang told a forum
on lunar and deep space exploration in Beijing,
according the newspaper.
“Not only might Mars serve for future robotic
or human settlement,” he said. “Studying its
evolution can help us answer some of the key
questions in cosmology that can have a
profound impact on our life.”
The 2020 Mars mission has previously been
reported in Chinese media , but few details have
emerged since last year.
The probe will be launched on a Long March-5
carrier rocket from China's southern Hainan
Island, state media said.
China is also reportedly planning to send probes
to Jupiter in 2036 and Uranus in 2046.
Beijing’s space exploration program is
highly ambitious.
The former Soviet Union, United States,
European Space Agency and India have all sent
probes to Mars, but only NASA have successfully
deployed a rover on the surface.
China is building a 400-million-yuan ‘Mars
simulation base’ in a remote area of its dry and
rocky north-west to boost scientific research of
the red planet and local tourism.


Authorities have also set up a 'space cabin' in
Beijing, where scientists study the effects on
student volunteers who spend 200 days in
confinement.
Chinese experts said the experiment was “vital
to the future of China's moon and Mars
missions and must be relied upon to guarantee
the safety and health of our astronauts."


source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/21/plans-2020-chinese-mars-probe-explore-possibility-human-settlement/

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