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The Chinese National Space Administration announced that the start of its first mission to explore Mars is months away. The Chinese exploration program is called Tianwen, which means “the search for heavenly truth”; his next mission to Mars will be Tianwen 1.
The name is taken from the work of the Chinese poet Qu Yuan, born in the 3rd century B.C.
So far only the United States and the Soviet Union have managed to send ships to the red planet, but in November last year China announced that sometime in 2020 it would also be conducting an unmanned Martian exploration mission. In 2019 a simulation base was opened in the Qaidam Basin, the highest desert region on the planet. This geographic area is considered one of the most Mars-like sites on Earth.
Also last year, China sent the lunar probe Chang’e-4 to the Moon; The country has plans to send a manned mission to our satellite sometime in the 2030s.
Despite having begun its space efforts long after other countries (when the United States had already sent humans to visit the Moon, China was just launching its first satellite into orbit), the country has invested billions of dollars in research and training.
According to the Chinese National Space Administration, the mission to Mars seeks to study the soil, geological structure, environment and atmosphere of this planet. Tianwen 1 is expected to touch Martian soil before July 2021.
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