The two countries take advantage of a time when Earth and Mars are closest to sending their probes. The Chinese project involves a Mars orbiter, a lander, and a rover to research the planet's soil. The U.S. Mars rover 'Perseverance' would search for signs of ancient microbial life, and collect samples of rock and soil with the aim of taking them back to Earth on another trip in 2031.
The Chinese mission was named Tianwen-1 ("Questions to Heaven") in a node to a classical poem with verses about the cosmos. Tianwen-1 is scheduled to arrive in February 2021 after a 7-month, 55-million-kilometer (34-million-mile) journey. Tianwen-1 is not the first attempt by China to go to Mars. A previous mission to Russia ended prematurely in 2011, as the launch failed.
Over the last decade , China has made huge strides, sending a human into space over 2003. The Asian giant laid the foundations for building a space station in Earth orbit by 2022 and establishing a permanent foothold. China's sent two rovers to the Moon, too. For the latter China became the first nation on the far side to make a good soft landing.