China aims to launch first Mars probe by 2020; plans to land on far side of moon by 2018

China has plans to become the first country in the world to soft land on the far side of the moon. To achieve this, China says it will launch a lunar probe in 2018 that will showcase its ambitious space programme.

A White Paper titled ‘China’s Space Activities in 2016’ said the country will continue to explore the moon in the next five years and strive to attain the automated extra-terrestrial sampling and returning technology by space explorers.

China’s rover has already landed on the moon in the past. But the country aims to explore the dark side of the surface of the moon to carve out a niche for itself as it has not been done by any other country so far.

“The lunar probe Chang’e-4 will conduct in situ and roving detection and relay communications at earth-moon L2 point,” the white paper said.

The probe aims at fulfilling the three strategic steps of “orbiting, landing and returning” for the lunar exploration project by launching the Chang’e-5 lunar probe by the end of 2017 and realising regional soft landing, sampling and return, it said.

Topographic and geological surveys will be implemented through the lunar exploration project and laboratory research on lunar samples will be conducted, it said.“Geological survey and research as well as low-frequency radio astronomy observation and research will be carried out targeting the landing area on the far side of the moon for a better understanding of the formation and evolution of the moon,” it added.

China also has plans launch its first ever Mars probe by 2020 to carry out orbiting and roving exploration, it added.

China’s plans to land on Mars did not succeed earlier so it wants to catch up with other countries including India to enter Mars.

“China intends to execute its first Mars exploration operation, and grasp key technologies for orbiting, landing and roving exploration,” the paper said.

It will conduct further studies and key technological research on the bringing back of samples from Mars, asteroid exploration, exploration of the Jupiter system and planet fly-by exploration, according to the white paper.

The paper also highlighted several of China plans to achieve major discoveries and breakthroughs in the frontier areas of space science including formation of BeiDou network consisting of 35 satellites for global navigation services by 2020 to rival America’s Global Position System, (GPS).

China will start providing basic services to countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-century Maritime Silk Road in 2018, it said.

China also plans to set up its permanent space station by 2022.China also plans to launch a hard X-ray modulation telescope to study the matter dynamics and high-energy radiation processes in the strong gravitational field of compact celestial bodies and black holes. 

(With PTI inputs)