On July 23, China’s first Mars mission Tianwen-1 was successfully launched, officially starting China’s independent exploration of Mars. Tianwen-1 was launched on a Long March-5 carrier rocket from Hainan Island, a resort province off the south coast of the mainland.

Also known as “quest for heavenly truth,” or “ask the sky,” from great Chinese poet Qu Yuan’s long poem, it reflects Chinese people’s persistence in seeking truth and exploring nature and the universe. Tianwen-1’s mission is to explore for any underground water, and search for any evidence of possible ancient life. Significantly, the spacecraft includes both an orbiter and rover.

It will take seven months to reach Mars. The primary mission is to detect signs of life on Mars. Is there life on the planet? Was there life in the past? How are the conditions and the environment?

This was a proud moment not only for all Chinese, but the world as a whole. China received congratulatory messages and video clips from the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), the European Space Agency (ESA), the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), NASA, the U.A.E. Space Agency (UAESA), the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and fellow scientists from Russia, the UK, Japan, Argentina and other countries.

Director of the China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center Liu Jizhong said on the launch, “these payloads are to study the Martian atmosphere, weather, geologic structure and so on.” The director noted that it will help China achieve a significant technological leap in the field of its deep space exploration and establishes an independent deep-space exploration engineering system to promote sustainable development in this field.

China’s Mars mission is an open scientific exploration platform. Mars probe this time is a result of Chinese aerospace researchers and workers’ independent and innovative endeavours and international cooperation on space. To ensure the smooth implementation of this mission, China conducted cooperation with the European Space Agency, France, Austria, Argentina and other organizations and countries.

But contrary to some media opinions, this mission is not aimed at dominance in space. Rather, it is a scientific and technological progress that aims to promote peace and common progress of mankind. China’s space endeavour makes an important part of mankind’s peaceful exploration and use of outer space, and is entirely designated for peaceful purposes.

Just as the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said, China’s exploration and research of Mars is aimed at improving mankind’s scientific understanding of Mars, expand and extend the space for human activities and advance the sustainable development of human civilization. The Pacific Ocean is vast enough to embrace all countries in the world.

The universe is even vaster to embrace all countries conducting joint exploration and cooperation. In fact, since 1996, Mars missions have been launched almost during every time window. In fact, 2020 witnessed a new surge of Mars mission launches into outer space by various countries.

Scientists say that Mars is the most similar planet to earth, which can help us find many answers to the past and the possible future of our home planet. The probe will help examine the atmosphere, landscape, geological and magnetic characteristics on Mars. These data will provide clues to the origin and evolution of Mars and the solar system.

Last but not least, the Mars probe may reveal whether the Red Planet has the potential to be a second home for human beings. China stands ready to work with other countries on the basis of mutual respect, openness and inclusiveness, equality and mutual benefit, conduct international cooperation in space and make contributions to mankind’s exploration of the universe, peaceful use of outer space and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.