After the Jade Rabbit's historic landing on the far side of the moon, China has set its eyes on a bigger, more phenomenal expedition: a Mars probe.
According to The Washington Post, China's space agency has revealed that it is planning to launch a mission to Mars by next year. Deputy chief of the China National Space Administration, Wu Yanhua said, "China will carry out its first-ever exploration mission to Mars around 2020."
The move is seen by experts as a wise one since the U.S. appears to be cutting back on its NASA budget. Most probes in the United States over the past years have been handed over to commercial companies. This could be the best opportunity for China to make its ascent in the space exploration industry.
The big reveal came after China's Jade Rabbit successfully made a graceful landing on the moon's unexplored side. For the first time in history, the moon rover captured images of itself on the rougher side of the moon as well as photos of the Chang'e-4 lander.
During the weekend, the space agency confirmed that both the lander and the moon rover are in good shape so far. Jade Rabbit has also awakened from its "nap," following a change in the moon's atmosphere that prompted the rover to take a five-day hibernation.
Aside from the planned 2020 Mars mission, China is also looking to launch another moon probe, the Chang'e-5, by the end of 2019. The goal is to retrieve samples of the near side of the moon since the first samples were collected way back in 1976.
Xinhua quoted Wu saying, "Experts are still discussing and verifying the feasibility of subsequent projects, but it's confirmed that there will be another three missions after Chang'e-5."
China reportedly said that it has shared data with NASA but the information cannot be confirmed at the moment. Under the 2011 Wolf Amendment, the U.S. has banned NASA workers from collaborating with any Chinese citizen known to be affiliated with China's government.
Experts believe that China and the U.S. should come to terms with each other not just for trade but also for space mission success. While negotiations for a potential joint space mission may be far off due to the ensuing trade war, spectators are looking forward to what could be the most extraordinary space probe in history should the two economic giants opt to unite for the common good.
