China wants to bring samples from Mars before NASA

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) plans to bring the first samples of Martian soil back to Earth as early as 2031, two years before a similar feat is accomplished by NASA. Details of Tianwen-3's ambitious sample return mission announced Sun Jiezhou, chief designer of Tianwen-1.

To collect and deliver Martian soil samples, China plans to launch a spacecraft to the Red Planet at the end of 2028, with subsequent delivery of samples to Earth in July 2031.

One of the reasons for such tight deadlines is the simplicity of the mission proposed by China: in contrast to more complex plan of NASA, the Chinese plan to carry out only one landing on Mars and a simpler process of collecting samples.

Last year CNSA demonstratedthat China is able to successfully deliver and land its own rover on Mars. Delivery of samples to Earth is a more difficult task, since for this it is necessary to lift materials into space on a takeoff apparatus, transfer it to the spacecraft, take it to the Earth and release capsules with samples to the surface planets.

The missions of CNSA and NASA are complex and require detailed study. Both agencies will need a lot of preliminary tests to minimize the risks: anything can go wrong in these plans.

But for scientists, all this effort is worth it if they can eventually study the samples. Using advanced equipment to study materials from Mars will allow us to determine whether any form of life existed on the Red Planet. In turn, this will help reveal some of the mysteries of the origin of life on Earth.