China Approves Manned Mission to Mars for 2025 Well Ahead of US Efforts
China Approves Manned Mission to Mars for 2025 Well Ahead of US Efforts
China has vowed to land a manned space probe on Mars by 2025, setting the stage for a dramatic space race with America.
Both the US & China want to be the first to put humans on the face of the Red Planet, However NASA says it plans to get astronauts to Mars at some point in the 2030s.
With this move, China has now dramatically stepped into the running and has increased the stakes dramatically.
In a sly nod to Neil Armstrong, top Chinese officials yesterday promised to make a “giant leap forward” by landing a robotic craft on the Martian surface in 2020.
“The probe is expected to orbit the red planet, land and deploy a rover all in one mission, which is quite difficult to achieve,” said Xu Dazhe , director of the China National Space Administration.
“Only by completing the Mars probe mission first in 2020 can China say that it is ready for a manned mission in 2025,” he added.
The Chinese unmanned probe will consist of an orbiting satellite, a landing craft and a Rover designed to roam around the wilds of Mars.
“We have less than 6 years till the manned launch, but we are confident,” said Ye Peijian, a team leader at the China Academy of Space Technology.
An artist impression of China’s rumored new reusable spaceplane.
China has dreamed of beating America to Mars ever since its “economic miracle” began .
“Our country’s space science activities have developed very fast in recent years,” a retired Communist Party official called Wu Xunjia told The Telegraph way back in 2002 .
Other US government officials have stated also that China could have a permanent base on the Red Planet by 2040.
