The Hindu : China to speed up Mars mission

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 20, 2003

International

International - Globescan

China to speed up Mars mission

Beijing: China plans to accelerate preparations for a mission to Mars, using its lunar programme to gain the experience and expertise needed to join the world's elite space nations, state press said on Thursday. While senior space scientists said a Mars probe was still years away, they plan to step up preparations. ``We do not have a timetable for a Mars probe programme at the moment but such a project will surely benefit from the country's ongoing efforts to embark on a maiden unmanned lunar mission,'' said Liu Zhenxing, a space expert at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He said the programme would consist of three stages: orbiting, landing and returning from Mars. The first phase would see China send a Mars orbiter spacecraft to circle the planet and analyse the space environment. The subsequent phases would involve wheeled robotic explorers to collect rocks and set up an unattended station on the planet. China's outlining of its lofty space ambitions follow the launch last week of the U.S. space probe Spirit toward Mars.

AFP

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