On September 5, China announced an ambitious plan to carry out the Tianwen-3 mission with two launches to collect samples from Mars and return them to Earth around 2028, two years earlier than the original schedule. This could be the world’s first Mars sample return mission.
This information was disclosed by Liu Jizhong, the chief designer of the Tianwen-3 mission, at a deep space exploration event held in Huangshan City, Anhui Province, Eastern China.
He stated that the primary objective of the mission is to search for signs of life on the Red Planet. Technically, the mission will involve core technologies such as surface sampling on Mars, takeoff from Mars, docking in Martian orbit, and planetary protection.
International Deep Space Exploration Conference held in Huangshan, Anhui, China on September 5. (Photo: Official Website of the Chinese Deep Space Exploration Laboratory).
The plan is structured into 13 stages, utilizing both remote sensing and in-situ techniques to conduct research on Mars samples and data, based on factors throughout the entire chain of life traces here, ensuring that these samples can be successfully brought back to Earth and yield meaningful scientific discoveries.
Regarding planetary protection, Chief Designer Liu Jizhong mentioned that the mission will adhere to international treaties to ensure that both Mars and Earth are not contaminated, as well as to maintain the integrity of the Martian samples.
On international cooperation for the Tianwen-3 mission, he added that collaboration will occur in three areas: payload cooperation, sample and data sharing, and planning for future missions. Specifically, China intends to collaborate with scientists worldwide to analyze Martian samples and data, establish the mission and objectives of future Martian research stations, tackle core technological challenges, and work together to create a shared home on Mars.
Humanity’s journey to explore the Red Planet began 64 years ago with the Soviet Union’s Mars mission in 1960. To date, seven countries and international organizations have conducted 47 Mars exploration missions, performing flybys, orbital insertions, landings, and surface explorations. However, the challenging task of returning samples from Mars to Earth has yet to be accomplished.
According to Wu Yihuan, the chief designer of China’s Lunar Exploration Program, who commented in April: “Looking at the progress of many countries around the world, China is poised to become the first country to bring Martian samples back to Earth.”
At the end of June this year, Bian Zhigang, Deputy Director of the China National Space Administration, stated that the country’s planetary exploration program has been approved and will include four missions expected to be completed within 10 to 15 years. Among these, Tianwen-2 is a mission to explore an asteroid, scheduled for launch around 2025, Tianwen-3 is the Mars sample return mission, expected to launch around 2030, and Tianwen-4 is a mission to explore Jupiter, also expected to launch around 2030.
Thus, according to this latest disclosure, the Tianwen-3 mission will be conducted two years earlier than initially planned.
