Get ready, space enthusiasts! 🚀 China is gearing up to bring a piece of Mars back to Earth with its Tianwen-3 mission, slated for around 2028. Liu Jizhong, the chief designer of the mission, announced the exciting news at the second International Deep Space Exploration Conference—aka the Tiandu Forum—in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province.
Just like their previous epic space adventures, this mission plans to collect samples right from the Martian surface, lift off from the Red Planet 🌕, and rendezvous and dock in Mars orbit. Talk about an interplanetary road trip! 🛸
The main quest? Searching for signs of life on Mars. Yep, we're talking aliens—well, microbial ones at least! 👽🔬
Liu also emphasized that international cooperation is on the agenda. The Tianwen-3 mission will involve international payloads, sample and data sharing, and joint planning for future missions. It's all about teamwork to push the boundaries of what we know about the universe. 🌠
But that's not all! China has big plans over the next 10 to 15 years, with four planetary exploration missions in the pipeline. The Tianwen-1 mission was a smashing success, and Tianwen-2 is set to launch around 2025 to sample a near-Earth asteroid. Plus, Tianwen-4 is aiming for Jupiter around 2030. Space just got a whole lot more exciting! ✨
Reference(s):
China to launch Mars-sampling mission in around 2028, says designer
cgtn.com
