China's space agency could be the first to bring samples from Mars to Earth, in a plan that would return Martian rocks and sediment in 2031.
In a paper published in the November issue of the journal National Science Review, researchers from the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory and collaborating institutions within China laid out a plan for Tianwen-3, a two-spacecraft Mars lander mission planned by the China National Space Administration. In a September update at a space exploration conference, Jizhong Liu, the chief designer of Tianwen-3, said the mission is on track to launch in 2028.
