China Testing its 2020 Mars Lander

China is sending an orbiter, lander and small rover to Mars. It is planned to launch in 2020 and touch down along with the armata of spacecraft headed there next year. The US is sending a giant rover again. Europe and the Russians are collaborating on a rover and lander (ExoMars). The United Arab Emirates will send the first Mars mission by a nonmajor space power: an orbiter called Hope.

For China, this will be its second attempt at a Mars mission. The first mission, Yinghuo-1, was to piggy back on the failed Russian mission, Fobos-Grunt. The Russians were providing the ride and the probe broke up when it was supposed to kick itself out of Earth orbit. The Chinese orbiter was lost at that time. The Global Remote Sensing Orbiter and Small Rover (yes, yes, exciting names, I am sure the Chinese will give it something else) is a /purely/ Chinese effort. And its an ambitious one.

Their intent to be the third/fourth country (the Euros make it a bit complicated, but they are using a Russian lander) means they need to rigorously test their designs. That they are doing. They recently released photos of their test rig. It's massive. The cabling is intended to reduce the pull of gravity (mars' being far, far less). They even did a test landing for the press.













Let me say that I do wish them luck. Mars has a habit of munching on probes sent to it. NASA used to joke there was the Galactic Ghoul eating a good number of the unmanned missions. The US has been the only nation to successfully land probes on the Martian surface for the last 40 years. The Soviet Union actually landed first, but its probe died pdq after sending some images. Others have attempted (Britain with the Beagle, for example) and even the US has screwed up (Mars Polar Lander).

We will see if the China can join the Americans, Russians and even Indians in getting an orbiter around Mars. And if they can get their lander with its rover down as well. We'll know is around than two years.

a reply to: anzha

The best of luck and Godspeed for the Huoxing-1 mission. I hope the rover will make it down to the surface in one piece.

And hopefully they have decent decontamination procedures in place. You know, planetary protection and all that.

a reply to: jeep3r

In principle, I agree about planetary protection. However, the Soviets probably botched that and contaminated Mars back in the 1970s with their probes.

a reply to: anzha

Looks like they're planning to copy NASA's daring sky crane landing , to big too soon I think , should've gone for a smaller lander wrapped in a bouncy ball for their first attempt ... Mars is hard.

I wish them luck but foresee failure.

Well, lets hope the Martians dont consider this "Armada" of Earth spaceships an Invasion!!

The last thing we need, is for the Martians to send us those damn Cylinders equipped with heat rays.......

Still, we have the common cold as our defence, thank goodness.

originally posted by: gort51
The last thing we need, is for the Martians to send us those damn Cylinders equipped with heat rays.......

Particularly with the global warming.

10,000$ per pound to send something into space.

a reply to: BelowBottomPublicity

$1.4 million per Tomahawk missile sent into Syria.

www.parabolicarc.com...

a little more info.

originally posted by: gort51
Still, we have the common cold as our defence, thank goodness.

Oops... I streamed that movie on my cell phone. The signal went into space! Now they know.

China's first Mars mission is named the Tianwen-1.

This translates roughly as 'Questions to Heaven' and is named for a poem.

www.reuters.com...

and more info:

spacenews.com...