China plans First Manned MARS Mission in 2033
China has planned to send its first crewed mission to MARS in the year 2033.
Key points
- Manned MARS Mission will be launched with regular follow-up flights.
- Mission will be launched with a long-term plan to build a permanently inhabited base on MARS and extract its resources.
- This ambitious plan will intensify a race with United States to put humans on MARS.
- Plan was disclosed after China landed a robotic rover on Mars in May 2021. It was China’s inaugural MARS mission.
Manned Mission by China
China has planned manned launches to Mars for 2033, 2035, 2037, 2041 and so on. Before the manned missions, China will send robots to Mars that will study possible sites to set up base and to build systems to extract resources there. Resources would be extracted to study it properly for manned mission.
What are the challenges ahead?
For human habitation on the planet, crews will have to be able to use resources from MARS. For instance, they should be ready for extracting any water beneath planet’s surface, generating oxygen on-site and producing electricity there. China must also develop technology to fly crew back to Earth.
How spacecraft will tap energy?
To reduce travel time to MARS, spacecraft would have to tap energy from nuclear reactions in the form of heat and electricity, besides from traditional chemical propellants.
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Month: Current Affairs - June, 2021