Tianwen­1: China’s Mars mission 

Tianwen­1: China’s Mars mission 

Part of: GS Prelims – Science and Technology – Space related missions 

In news: 

• China launched its most ambitious Mars mission. (from Hainan Island, south of China’s mainland) 
• If the mission succeeds, China will join the U.S. in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. 
• Tianwen­1, or “quest for heavenly truth” – will look for underground water and evidence of possible ancient life. 

Do you know? 

• Landing on Mars is notoriously difficult. Only the U.S. has successfully landed a spacecraft on Martian soil, doing it eight times since 1976.