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In a bold and unprecedented statement, Wang Shizhao, the lead designer of China's lunar exploration program, expressed confidence that China can beat the United States in the prestigious space race to deliver the first samples of Martian soil to Earth.
The defiant comment from one of China's top space executives was the first such landmark statement by China's space authority, marking a new era in the growing scientific and technological rivalry between the two superpowers in their pursuit of the Red Planet.
"China will launch the Tianwen-3 spacecraft around 2030 to carry out its mission to return samples from Mars," Wu Weiren said Wednesday during a speech at a Chinese space conference in Wuhan, central Hubei province.
"With the progress made around the world, we expect to be the first country to deliver samples from Mars," said Wu, who is also the director of the newly established Deep Space Laboratory in Hefei, Anhui province.
