China and Russia have set a timetable for a joint mission to Mars in 2009 to retrieve rocks from the Red Planet as part of preparations for an ambitious manned mission in the future.
Speaking at a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday on space technology and its applications, Ye Peijian , a senior scientist at the Chinese Academy of Space Technology, said each country would have responsibility for different parts of the project, Xinhua reported yesterday.
Mr Ye said Russia would launch the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, while China would provide a device on board the spacecraft to survey Mars and its satellite, Phobos. The mission will be another significant step in the mainland's ambitious plans to be a major player in space exploration.
Wu Ji , director of the Centre for Space Science and Applied Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, described space science as a pillar of a country's overall scientific and technological development. 'No country can be a major power in space technology without space science research,' Mr Wu said.
In 2003, China became only the third country, after the US and the Soviet Union, to launch a person into space aboard its own rocket. Two years later, it sent two astronauts into orbit and another manned orbit is planned next year.
Among other space endeavours, the mainland has also set its sights on a manned mission to the moon by 2020. According to a three-phase lunar plan, scientists will first launch a lunar probe next year, which will orbit the moon for a year, collecting images and data on the moon's surface and environment.
