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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

China appears to be moving forward with its Mars ambitions [arstechnica.com], as a key space official has confirmed that work is continuing toward launching an orbiter and lander by 2020 or 2022.

“We are aiming to use the launch window of 2020," Dr. Wu Ji, director-general of the National Space Science Center in Beijing, told [gbtimes.com] the website gbtimes. “If we miss that window, it will be 2022. So it is quite urgent.”
...
A Chinese spacecraft that reaches to Mars, and safely lands, would be a real coup. In its rivalry with India, China was upstaged in 2013 as India's Mars Orbiter Mission successfully reached and explored the red planet. However, only two countries have ever softly landed spacecraft on Mars. The United States has done so half a dozen times; and the Soviet Union landed Mars 3 on the red planet in 1971, although the vehicle failed after sending back about 15 seconds of data.

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