China will bring exploration robots to Mars in 2020

China announced the first images of self-propelled exploration robots scheduled to land and explore the red planet in 2020.

BBC yesterday reported that China's Mars probe robot weighs 200kg, installs 6 wheels and 4 solar panels, operates for about 92 days. The robot will carry 13 sets of devices such as remote sensing cameras and ground-penetrating radar to study the ground, the environment and the inner structure of Mars, and search for traces of water and ice.

China's Mars probe robot is expected to go into operation in 2020. (Photo: Reuters).

China is investing heavily in space programs to catch up with the US and Europe. In April, China announced plans to launch a spacecraft flying around Mars and allow exploration robots to land on the planet's surface by 2020.

According to Ye Peijian, Chinese space program advisor, Truong Chinh 5 missile will depart from the Van Truong space launch center south of Hainan island, carrying an exploration robot. The robot will be separated from the spacecraft at the end of the 7-month journey and land near the equator of Mars.

Self-propelled exploration robots will explore the surface and environment on Mars.(Photo: Reuters).

China's first attempt to bring satellites to Mars orbit failed in 2011 when Russian-produced boosters could not escape Earth's orbit. If the new project succeeds, China will be the fifth nation / organization to have a spacecraft flying around Mars, after the US, Russia, Europe and India.