China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation publicized the first pictures of China’s Mars probe on October 12, revealing that China is set to launch the probe by mid-2020. According to Ye Peijian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief designer of China’s strategic satellites, the Mars probe will carry out observation, landing and exploration, meaning the probe will carry a rover to explore the planet after it makes orbital observations and lands on the surface.
Mars is more than 100 times further from Earth than the Moon, and therefore a Mars mission requires much more advanced technology. Only the US has successfully landed probes on the red planet.
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