China will launch a Mars rover in 2020
China has announced new details of its mission to explore Mars, indicating that it intends to send an uncrewed spacecraft to the red planet in just four years' time, with a planned launch occurring sometime in 2020.
The project will include three components: an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. "What we want to achieve is to orbit Mars, land, and deploy the rover in one mission, which will be quite difficult to achieve," China's National Space Administration director Xu Dazhe told media in Beijing last Friday.
The aim of the mission will be to study Mars' surface and atmosphere, analysing soil and looking for any traces of water that can hopefully be found.
"Researching these matters is really researching humanity itself and the origins of life," said Xu. "Only by completing this Mars probe mission can China say it has truly embarked on the exploration of deep space."
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http://www.sciencealert.com/it-s-official-china-will-launch-a-mars-rover-in-2020
