China Reveals big plans for Space Mission this year

The Space Agency of China has revealed the name of its first Mars Exploration Mission, a major breakthrough in the field of science for Chinese Authorities.

Media reports said, This Mars Exploration mission is coinciding with China’s annual Space Day and the 50th anniversary of the launch of its first satellite.

Chinese state news agency reported that Tianwen-1 is the name of the Mars Exploration mission, citing the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The unmanned exploration mission to Mars expected to launched this year. The name comes from “Tianwen”, or “Questions to Heaven”, a poem written by Qu Yuan who lived more than two millennia ago.

In the poem, questions were raised about stars and other celestial bodies.

The CNSA said that all of China’s planetary exploration missions in future would named “Tianwen” to signify the country’s scientific pursuits in space. China successfully launched its first satellite, the Dongfanghong-1, in 1970.

Since 2016, China has set April 24 as the country’s Space Day to mark the launch of its first satellite Dongfanghong-1 on April 24, 1970. This year is the 50th anniversary of the start of China’s entry into space.

Furthermore the various activities on this Day have become a window for the Chinese public and the world to get a better understanding of China’s aerospace progress.

In 2003, it became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

Since then, China has been racing to catch up with Russia and the United States and become a major power by 2030.