China's first Mars Lander made its public debut in a test on Thursday.

The lander test, conducted at Asia's largest integrated extraterrestrial object landing test site located in Huailai, Zhangjiakou city, simulated gravity on Mars (Mars' gravitational acceleration is about one-third of Earth's).

Test processes included hovering, avoiding obstacles and slowing down in the Martian environment, which were conducted to verify design accuracy.

This was the first public appearance of China's Mars exploration project. China's National Space Administration (CNSA) invited ambassadors and envoys from 20 embassies including France, Italy and Brazil, representatives of the European Union, the African Union mission to China, representatives of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization and Chinese and media reporters to attended the event.

Mars exploration is the current international frontier of scientific and technological innovation activities. A safe landing is one of the most difficult challenges of a Mars exploration mission. China's first Mars exploration mission is scheduled to be launched in 2020, with the goal of orbiting and landing on Mars in one mission. The mission plans to conduct a global and comprehensive exploration of Mars, and make detailed surveys of key areas of the Martian surface.