China plans to launch a Mars mission in July. A remote-controlled robot is set to explore the surface of the red planet, the company executing the project says.
The Mars Mission is one of many projects under China’s multi-billion-dollar space program.
Other goals of the Asian superpower include putting Chinese astronauts on the moon and having their own space station by 2022.
In this way, China wants to reach the same technological level as the United States and underline its status as a world power.
The Mars mission has been on the government’s agenda for some time. Still, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) has now announced that the mission may depart as early as July.
“The major project is on track, and we are aiming for a July launch,” CASC said in a statement on Sunday.