China named its first Mars exploration mission as Tianwen-1 as it celebrated Space Day on 24 April. The observation marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the country’s first satellite Dong Fang Hong-I in 1970. China’s first Mars mission has been scheduled to launch in 2020.
China’s Mars Mission:
♦ China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Mars mission as “Tianwen.” It means Heavenly Questions or Questions to Heaven, a poem written by China’s well-known poet Qu Yuan (340-278 BC).
♦ CNSA stated that China’s future planetary exploration missions will be named the Tianwen series. It signifies the Chinese nation’s perseverance in pursuing truth and science and exploring nature and the universe.
♦ China’s Mars mission includes complete orbiting, landing, and roving in one mission.
♦ With this mission, the country aims to catch up with India, the US, Russia, and the European Union who is already executing their Mars Mission.
China in Space Mission:
China in recent years has emerged as a major space power with manned space missions and landing a rover in the dark side of the moon. It is currently building a space station of its own. However, China’s attempts to send an exploratory probe to Mars called Yinghuo-l, in a Russian spacecraft in 2011 failed as shortly after the launch and it was declared lost and later burnt during re-entry.
The US, Russia, the EU besides India so far succeeded in sending missions to Mars regarded as the most complex space mission. India became the first Asian country to have successfully launched its Mars orbiter mission, Mangalyaan which has entered the orbit of the red planet in 2014. India also became the first country to have entered the Martian orbit in its first attempt.
