Beijing eyes 'robotic and human settlement' on Mars with ambitious 2020 mission

Preparations for China’s ambitious mission to Mars in 2020 are “going smoothly”, a top space scientist said, as he told a forum of the potential for “robotic and human settlement” on the mysterious planet.

Zhang Rongqiao said China is seeking to become the first country to conduct joint orbital and surface exploration of Mars in a single mission.

The probe will provide invaluable data on temperature, atmospheric conditions and landscape, before Beijing dispatches further missions to retrieve soil and rock samples.

Mr Zhang, the chief architect the mission, said the probe will be made up of three parts; orbiter, lander and rover. 

“The lander will separate from the orbiter at the end of a journey of around seven months and touch down in a low latitude area in the northern hemisphere of Mars where the rover will explore the surface,” said state news agency Xinhua.

The report said there would be 13 payloads in the mission, including “six rovers”, although state media have previously only reported one.

As the surface mission collects data, the orbiter will monitor the red planet’s “atmosphere” and “key scientific indicators” the China Daily said.

Planning for the mission “is going smoothly and all according to plan,” Mr Zhang told a forum on lunar and deep space exploration in Beijing, according the newspaper.

“Not only might Mars serve for future robotic or human settlement,” he said. “Studying its evolution can help us answer some of the key questions in cosmology that can have a profound impact on our life.”

The 2020 Mars mission has previously been reported in Chinese media, but few details have emerged since last year.

The probe will be launched on a Long March-5 carrier rocket from China's southern Hainan Island, state media said.

China is also reportedly planning to send probes to Jupiter in 2036 and Uranus in 2046.

Beijing’s space exploration program is highly ambitious.

The former Soviet Union, United States, European Space Agency and India have all sent probes to Mars, but only NASA have successfully deployed a rover on the surface. 

China is building a 400-million-yuan ‘Mars simulation base’ in a remote area of its dry and rocky north-west to boost scientific research of the red planet and local tourism.

Authorities have also set up a 'space cabin' in Beijing, where scientists study the effects on student volunteers who spend 200 days in confinement. 

Chinese experts said the experiment was “vital to the future of China's moon and Mars missions and must be relied upon to guarantee the safety and health of our astronauts."

Additional reporting by Christine Wei