China's Deep Space Exploration Lab inks memoranda of understanding (MOU) with international organizations during the 2nd International Deep Space Exploration Conference in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, on Sept. 5, 2024.(Photo: Xinhua)

China announced its ambitious plan to carry out Tianwen-3 mission with two launches to retrieve samples from Mars and bring them back to Earth by around 2028, chief designer of the mission Liu Jizhong disclosed on Thursday at an event on deep-space exploration held in Huangshan, East China’s Anhui Province. The mission is expected to become the world’s first such attempt on the Red Planet, and will involve international payload cooperation, as well as global collaboration in sample and data sharing.

The mission’s top priority is to search for traces of life on the Red Planet, Liu noted. In terms of engineering, the mission will involve critical technologies such as Mars surface sampling, ascent from Mars, Mars orbit rendezvous, and planetary protection. 

The plan is structured into 13 stages, employing both in-situ and remote sensing techniques to conduct comprehensive research on Mars samples, ensuring that they can be successfully returned and can yield meaningful scientific discoveries.

In terms of planetary protection, the chief engineer said the mission will adhere to international treaties to ensure Mars and Earth remain uncontaminated, and that the integrity of the samples is preserved. 

For international cooperation on the Tianwen-3 mission, Liu said it will be carried out in three areas: payload collaboration, sample and data sharing, and future mission planning. Specifically, China intends to work with scientists from all over the world to analyze Mars samples and data, collaborate on defining the mission and tasks of a future Mars research station, and tackle key technological challenges, visioning the joint building of a future Mars home.

Humanity's journey to explore the Red Planet began 64 years ago with the former Soviet Union's 1960 Mars mission. To date, a total of seven countries and international organizations have conducted 47 Mars exploration treks, achieving flybys, orbital missions, landings, and surface rovers. However, the challenging task of returning samples from Mars remains unaccomplished.

"Currently, looking at the progress of various countries around the world, China is expected to become the first country to return samples from Mars," Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration project, remarked during this year’s China Space Day on April 24. 

The Tianwen-4 mission, which China is conducting feasibility study on, will aim for the exploration of Jupiter and its moons, followed by the arrival at Uranus, according to Wu.


Global Times