China says it will launch a joint mission with Russia to Mars in 2009, marking 鈥渁n important milestone鈥 in space cooperation between the two countries.
A small Chinese satellite will take off on a Russian rocket, according to the agreement signed on Monday between the China National Space Administration and the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Chinese space body announced on Wednesday.
The agreement, signed during an ongoing three-day visit to Russia by Chinese President Hu Jintao, follows pledges by Moscow in recent months to work closely with Beijing on exploration of both Mars and the Moon.
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鈥淭his is an important milestone in Sino-Russian space cooperation,鈥 the Chinese space administration said in a statement posted on its website.
According to the agreement, a small satellite developed by China would be launched along with a Russian spacecraft called 鈥淧hobos Explorer鈥, probably in October 2009, the administration reported.
After entering Mars鈥檚 orbit 10 to 11 months later, the Chinese satellite would detach from the spacecraft and probe the Martian space environment. Then, the Phobos Explorer, carrying equipment partly developed by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, would land on the Martian moon Phobos. Later, it would return to Earth with soil samples.
鈥榃in-win situation鈥
Observers say the mission would pair Chinese money with Russian science. 鈥淣o one has more experience in space exploration than the Russians, and there鈥檚 no question that their technology is far ahead of China鈥檚,鈥 says Tong Huiquan, an astronomer at the Nanchang Institute of Technology in eastern China.
鈥淏ut China鈥檚 economy is doing better than Russia鈥檚, and China can provide Russia with some economic assistance, so it鈥檚 fair to say it鈥檚 a win-win situation,鈥 he says.
The state-owned China Daily newspaper suggested the mission, which has previously been outlined in the Chinese media, was of scientific value, as it would yield information on the origins of the solar system and Earth.
Even so, many observers have seen China鈥檚 revived interest in space as a reflection of its great power aspirations, and a source of national pride. 鈥淥ur national strength has risen,鈥 says Zhang Ming, an astronomy professor at eastern China鈥檚 Nanjing University. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a road that we absolutely must travel.鈥
Lunar exploration
In 2003, China successfully launched astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit, becoming the third country after the former Soviet Union and the US to put a man in space (see Confident China joins space elite).
It hopes to launch a lunar exploration satellite in 2007 as part of a programme aimed at placing an unmanned vehicle on the Moon by 2012.
China鈥檚 space programme can be traced back to the mid-1950s, when it was started with Soviet help during a period of warm ties between the two giants of the Communist bloc.
Even China鈥檚 recent foray into crewed space travel has come about with some assistance, as Chinese astronauts have received advanced training in Russia.
Despite the history of cooperation, Chinese researchers had few illusions about the extent of the know-how that Russia would be willing to share.
鈥淎lthough science knows no borders, technology does, and there鈥檚 no way others will let you in on their most advanced technological know-how,鈥 says Zhang. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to tell what kind of cooperation the future will bring, but it probably will help us add to our overall technological and scientific abilities.鈥
