China's Tianwen-1 successfully reached the Red Planet in February 2021 on the country's inaugural mission there. A robotic rover has since been deployed on the surface as an orbiter surveyed the planet from space.
China landed Tianwen-1 spacecraft on Mars on May 15, becoming the third country to perform successful landing on the red planet after U.S. and the Soviet Union. The three Mars missions in 2021 and how they are different from each other.
An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars on May 15, making China only the second space-faring nation after the United States to land on the Red Planet.
The solar-powered rover — about the size of a golf cart — is expected to operate for about three months, and the orbiter for two years.