China’s 2020 Mars mission is going ahead despite the pandemic

The mission, on track for a July launch despite the Covid-19 pandemic, is named Heavenly Questions after the classical Chinese poem Tianwen

In November last year, China completed a key landing test for the 2020 Mars mission in Hebei province. (Picture: Reuters)

China’s Mars mission is moving ahead as planned despite disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. And now the mission has a name: Tianwen-1.

The China National Space Administration announced the name of the Mars probe mission on Friday. Tianwen, or Heavenly Questions, is a classical Chinese poem written around 300 BC by Qu Yuan, one of ancient China’s greatest poets. The poem, which raised questions about the sky and stars, has been described as “the written treasure of Chinese mythology.”
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