Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: Weibo/Inside Outer Space screengrab

China is making progress on its Tianwen-3 Mars Sample Return mission. It appears on track getting the trek underway next year, dedicated to bring back to Earth roughly 500 grams of Red Planet collectibles in 2031.

According to the China National Space Administration, the Tianwen-3 probe will have a lander, an ascender, a service capsule, an orbiter, and an Earth reentry module.

Grab the headlines

The Tianwen-3 mission will be launched around 2028 on two Long March-5 heavy-lift carrier rockets from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China’s southernmost island province of Hainan.

Explains a U.S. Mars expert: “China will not only grab the headlines but may be the first to find evidence of life on another planet.”

For more details, go to my new Space.com story — “China on track to launch Mars sample-return mission in 2028 – “If accurate, this represents a Sputnik moment” – at:

https://www.space.com/astronomy/mars/china-on-track-to-launch-mars-sample-return-mission-in-2028-if-accurate-this-represents-a-sputnik-moment

Image credit: Weibo/Inside Outer Space screengrab