Preparations for launching China´s Mars probe in progress

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Source: CCTV.com | 11-09-2007 09:18

China will launch a Mars probe in 2009, carried by a Russian rocket. The Space authority says preparations for the program are in progress. This marks another step forward for China's space industry, after the recent moon exploration program.

China will independently develop its own Mars satellite using a Russian rocket to lift it into space along with a Russian exploration vehicle. The Chinese satellite will orbit Mars and the Russian vehicle will land on Phobos, the innermost and biggest of the red planet's moons.

Zhang Wei, Director of Foreign Affairs Dept.,National Space Administration, said, "To conduct the program, our controlling and data receiving capability should be able to reach spacecrafts tens of millions kilometers away, which is much further than the moon."

The Chinese satellite will fly around the planet for a year and send data and photographs back to Earth. Its main task is to explore the external environment of Mars. Program experts say this is a new idea, since past Mars explorations usually focused on searching for life and water on the red planet.

Scientists estimate it will take the spacecraft 9 to 10 months to reach Mars. If everything goes as planned, the probe will arrive in October, 2010.

The joint program is the result of a cooperative agreement between China and Russia, which was signed this March during a meeting of the two heads of states.

Editor:Zhang Ning