Published : 10 Sep 2026, 01:45 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:49 AM
China is pressing ahead with its Tianwen 3 mission to bring Martian samples back to Earth.
A former NASA official says it could be a defining moment in the global space race.
The mission is on track. Probe equipment has entered the prototype development phase.
Scientist teams across China are working together to overcome key technical challenges, according to chief scientist Hou Zengqian, reports Space.com.
Tianwen 3 is set to launch around 2028.
Two Long March 5 heavy-lift rockets will lift off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province.
The mission will carry a lander, ascender, orbiter, service capsule, and Earth reentry module.
The goal is to collect around 500 grams of Martian material and return it to Earth by 2031.
Searching for signs of life is the mission's top priority.
Hou says the probe will look for microbial traces potentially similar to early life on Earth. It will also consider the possibility of unknown life forms shaped by Mars' unique evolutionary history, according to Space.com.
"Regardless of whether signs of life are found, the returned Martian samples will have irreplaceable scientific value," Hou said.
NASA's own Mars sample return plans are currently uncertain. That has left China looking like the frontrunner.
Scott Hubbard, a former NASA Mars programme director, did not mince words.
"China will not only grab the headlines but may be the first to find evidence of life on another planet," he said.
Hubbard called China's progress a "Sputnik moment" -- a reference to the Soviet satellite launch that shocked the West in 1957.
China expects to finalise the landing site by the end of 2026.
Candidate sites are being assessed on geological age, history of water activity, and the potential for preserving biosignatures.
Chinese specialists are also working on a next-generation geological map of the entire planet.
Contamination control is a major challenge.
A dedicated planetary protection laboratory is being built in Hefei, in eastern China's Anhui province, reports Space.com.
It will handle sample sterilisation, unsealing, and biological risk assessment.
The facility is designed to protect both the returned samples and Earth's biosphere.
China says it will follow international planetary protection policies to prevent biological contamination -- both of Mars by Earth organisms, and of Earth by anything the samples may carry back.
