China has just launched the rocket that will take it's first Mars rover, named Tianwen-1, to the red planet. An unusual mission that combines a surface rover with an orbiting satellite, Dr David Brown from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group in the Department of Physics comments on the significant leaps that China has made in developing its space programme.

Dr Brown said: “Tianwen-1 is an exciting, ambitious mission. The combination of a rover on the surface with an orbiting satellite is rare for Mars missions, and allows Tianwen-1 to carry out a range of observations and scientific investigation, including studying Mars’ atmosphere and searching for evidence of past (and current) life on Mars. China’s space programme has been progressing in leaps and bounds in recent years, and this latest mission demonstrates how successful they have been at developing that.”

23 July 2020

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