China is setting its sights on Mars once again, aiming to collect and bring back samples from the red planet by 2031. This ambitious goal is part of the Tianwen-3 mission, which seeks to uncover potential signs of life on Mars.
According to the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, China plans to execute the Tianwen-3 mission with two launches around 2028. The mission is designed to land on Mars, collect samples, and return them to Earth in one seamless operation. The landing site will double as the sampling location, ensuring efficiency in the mission’s objectives.
Scientists have identified 86 potential landing sites, mainly focusing on the ancient regions of Chryse Planitia and Utopia Planitia. These areas are rich in diverse geological environments, including ancient coastlines, deltas, lakes, and canyon systems. Such features offer favorable conditions for the origin and preservation of potential ancient life, making them ideal targets for sample collection.
The mission’s team is dedicated to figuring out how to detect, where to find, and how to preserve biosignatures—the indicators of past or present life. They plan to use both surface and drilling sampling techniques and are developing new instruments specifically designed for biosignature detection.
International collaboration is a key aspect of Tianwen-3. The mission will carry payloads developed through partnerships with other countries, and China is open to working with scientists worldwide to conduct joint research on the Mars samples and data collected.
Beyond Mars, China is also looking further into our solar system. The Tianwen-4 mission is set to explore the Jovian system, investigating Jupiter and its moons to understand their evolutionary history.
With these missions, China continues to make significant strides in space exploration, contributing valuable knowledge about our neighboring planets and the possibility of life beyond Earth.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
