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Tianwen-3 Mars sample-return

China has announced plans for a Mars sample-return mission to be called Tianwen-3. The mission would launch in late 2028, with a lander and ascent vehicle on a Long March 5 and an orbiter and return module launched separately on a Long March 3B. Samples would be returned to Earth in July 2031.

"Tianwen" is the name of China's entire planetary exploration program, not specifically to detect Mars. "Tianwen" originated from Qu Yuan's long poem "Tianwen ", which expresses the tenacity and perseverance of the Chinese nation in the pursuit of truth, embodies the cultural heritage of the exploration of nature and the universe, and implies that the search for scientific truth is a long journey, and the pursuit of scientific and technological innovation will never end. After the Tianwen-1 mission, China will have a number of Tianwen series of planetary endeavors to explore the universe, according to a Chinese scientist. Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, said 12 March 2022 the country's deep space exploration will continue and its Mars mission will be followed by the Tianwen-2, Tianwen-3, and Tianwen-4. Tianwen-2 is returning samples from asteroids, Tianwen-3 is returning samples from Mars, and Tianwen-4 is going to the Jupiter system.

"Tianwen-3" is the second Mars probe that everyone is looking forward to, and it will cross again. In 2028 Achieved Mars sampling return in 2018. Previously, the public statement was that before 2030, Academician Long has clarified the specific time of the task for the first time, so he should be sure. In the PPT he showed, even the plan of "Tianwen No. 3" was drawn.

And "Tianwen-1" realizes "circling, landing, and patrolling" in one step, and if "Tianwen-3" really achieves sampling and return, we have almost completed more than 20 Mars explorations in the United States with two Mars probes. The task of the device is very fast. Previously, the United States has launched 25 rovers to Mars, of which 5 failed, and sent 5 Mars rovers, such as Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance, to their destinations, as well as 2 Mars workstations and 1 Mars Helicopter.

The United States originally planned to carry out a Mars sample retrieval mission with Europe in July 2026. In fact, the current "Perseverance" is constantly drilling holes on Mars, and is already collecting samples to prepare for the sampling return. At that time, there will be a special sampling vehicle to collect the samples collected by the "Perseverance". and bring them back. However, for various reasons, the US Mars sampling mission has been delayed until 2031, which means it may be later than China's.

The launch of "Tianwen-3" will be completed by the Long March 9 heavy rocket, which means that the Long March 9 will complete its maiden flight before this. One option is to launch two new 921 rockets, and the other is to launch a Long March 9. However, the Long March 9 is not designed for manned missions to the moon, its real stage is Mars. And if the development of the Long March 9 does not go well, there is still a backup option. Even if a Long March 5 and a Long March 3 BG2 rocket are used, the "Tianwen 3" can also be sent to the destination.