Want US Racing, China Accelerates Mars Sample Return Mission

China and the US are competing in a Mars sample return mission (photo: dock. NASA)

NASA plans to bring home samples from Mars before 2040 so the strategy review team has been created. However, there is still the possibility that the US space agency is lagging behind China.

Initially, China planned to launch a Mars sample return mission by 2030. However, when the International Space Exploration Conference was held in China, the country's space agency said its launch schedule was accelerated.

They plan to launch the Tianwen-3 mission, the designation for the Mars sample return program, in 2028. If the launch of the mission goes well, NASA could fall behind because they are still focused on making low-cost strategies.

"Two launches are needed to carry out the Mars sample return mission due to the limited carrying power of our current rocket. Two Long March-5-carrying rockets will be used for the mission," Mars Sample Return Project Chief Liu Jizhong told the Xinhua news agency, quoted via Space.

The Tianwen-3 mission is almost the same as the MSR mission that NASA will launch. They will collect samples from the surface of Mars, launch rides carrying samples, do docking in Mars orbit, then launch rides to Earth.

Tianwen-3 lander rides are similar to Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6 which are equipped with shovels and drills. An important mission in this field of science research will involve international cooperation, including loading and sharing of samples and data.

Although China's preparations went smoothly, the US considers Tianwen-3 to be more political. Scott Hubbard, once NASA's First Director of Mars Program, considers China to have little knowledge of this mission.

According to him, if China manages to sample, the scientific value will be lower than the samples NASA selects carefully. Hubbard believes in the results of Perseverance exploration on the red planet.

"If China manages to 'take samples' on Mars and return them safely to Earth before the US, it will be a 'Sputnik moment," Hubbard said. "In my opinion, the strength of the performance and political of the title 'China beat the US' is much more important to the People's Republic of China."