Friday, April 22, 2016

China Planning Mars Orbiter & Rover for 2020

China plans to send a rover to Mars to explore the Red Planet, a top space official announced on Friday, in the latest step of its ambitious space programme.

Authorities approved the mission in January, said National Space Administration director Xu Dazhe told a press conference in Beijing, according to a transcript.

The aim was to launch around 2020, he said, calling the timing "a challenge" that would be "a giant leap" for the country's space capabilities.

"What we want to achieve is to orbit Mars, land, and deploy the rover in one mission, which will be quite difficult to achieve."

No comments: