Today marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Fifth Institute under the Ministry of National Defense, now known as China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China’s first missile research center.
Over the past 60 years, China’s aerospace industry has witnessed amazing development, from the country’s first man-made satellite “Dongfanghong-1” to Chinese lunar probe “Yutu.”
It is now time for Mars exploration. China has already started its research, and plans to launch a Mars probe by the end of 2020, according to Lei Fanpei, deputy chief commander of the manned space project.
Lei said the probe will land on Mars before July 2021, and will orbit around and land on the planet in one mission. The actions were completed in separate missions during the previous moon exploration.
“It is possible to accomplish the task, because we have experience from the moon exploration. However, our load capacity is under test, since Mars and the moon have different gravity environments, and Mars is farther than the moon. The probe has to adapt to Mars’ vacuum environment and realize deep space communication,” explained Lei.
Only the former Soviet Union, the US and Europe have sent probes to Mars. The latest probe that landed on the planet was the US Curiosity Rover on August 6, 2012.
