[Reading Science] China Imitating US Space Development... Will It Win on Mars?

"Chinese-made Mars Helicopter Used for Sample Collection"
CNSA Reveals at Recent Space Development Conference
Utilizing Mars Sample Collection Program from 2028 to 2031
Following Reusable Spacecraft and Earth Defense Plans, 'Imitation' Trilogy

China's approach to space development is blatantly imitative of the United States. Following the development of stainless steel reusable rockets and the establishment of an Earth defense operation against asteroids, China has now announced plans to build a Mars helicopter. Can imitation surpass the original? If current plans proceed as scheduled, China may at least win in the Mars sample return program.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) revealed details of the Mars exploration sample return program, the "Tianwen-3 mission," to be conducted after 2028, at the International Deep Space Science Conference held in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, on the 22nd.

The core objective of this program is the same as that of the U.S. Mars exploration. It aims to collect about 500g of Martian rocks, stones, and soil samples and bring them back to Earth for analysis. The goal is to search for traces of ancient life and study environmental and climate change processes. To achieve this, two Long March 5 launch vehicles will each carry a lander and ascent vehicle, an orbiter, and a return module. China successfully completed the Tianwen-1 mission in May 2021, landing the Mars rover Zhurong, thereby acquiring technology for Mars atmospheric entry, descent, and landing.

The lander will be developed in the form of a rover equipped with a robotic arm for surface sample collection and a drill capable of reaching up to 2 meters below the surface to collect subsurface materials. To gather scattered samples, a six-legged walking robot or a small helicopter similar to NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity will accompany the mission. The Chinese Academy of Sciences had previously unveiled a prototype of such a flying vehicle to the international community in September 2021. In this context, NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity, which accompanied the Perseverance rover in February 2021, set a historic record as the first human-made vehicle to fly on an extraterrestrial planet. Contrary to initial concerns about its short lifespan, it has successfully completed over 50 flights and has been operational for more than two years. This flying vehicle has opened up great potential for fast and precise exploration of extraterrestrial planets. NASA also plans to build another small helicopter for the Mars sample return project scheduled around 2030 to assist in sample collection.

China plans to transport the collected samples to an orbiter waiting in Mars orbit using a two-stage ascent vehicle, which will then be loaded into a return module and sent back to Earth. The ascent vehicle will weigh at least 360 kg and consist of a first stage using solid fuel and a second stage using liquid fuel. The exact timing of this program's implementation is not yet known. However, in June last year, Chinese authorities announced plans to launch the Tianwen-1 mission by the end of 2028 and have Martian samples arrive on Earth by July 2031.

The detailed selection of the landing site is currently being conducted by invited international experts. Considering energy conservation and sunlight intensity, an area between 17° and 30° north latitude, measuring approximately 50 km wide by 20 km long, will be designated. Since Mars' atmospheric density is only about 1% of Earth's, the landing site will be chosen in a depression at least 3,000 meters below the Martian surface (relative to Earth's sea level) to ensure sufficient atmospheric lift for a safe landing. Additionally, to search for evidence of ancient Martian life and geological evolution, priority will be given to areas where the surface soil formation dates back more than 3.5 billion years. Sedimentary rocks, hot springs, seas, and other traces of flowing water, as well as geological diversity, will be prioritized as suitable environments for life in the landing site selection.

If China's Mars sample collection and Earth return program proceeds as planned and is completed by 2031, it will mark the first instance of China surpassing the United States in space development. NASA's Mars sample return program, conducted jointly with the European Space Agency (ESA), is scheduled to conclude in 2033 due to budget constraints. Competing with the U.S. for hegemony, China has been promoting its "space rise" since the 2010s, investing about 10 trillion won annually (excluding military spending) and deploying hundreds of thousands of personnel, roughly ten times more than South Korea.

China is actively imitating to surpass the U.S., which leads in space development. After NASA conducted the world's first Earth defense project, the "Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)," in December last year, China announced plans to conduct a similar experiment. Recently, China declared it would collide a spacecraft with the near-Earth asteroid "2019 VL5" in 2025, one year earlier than originally planned, to study whether its trajectory can be altered.

China also imitated SpaceX's stainless steel reusable launch vehicle using liquid methane fuel. In January this year, Space Epoch, a private space company based in Beijing, conducted ignition tests of the experimental launch vehicle "XZH-1 D1" at a test site in Anhui Province. The use of stainless steel propellant tanks and a liquid methane engine (Longyun 70) was identical to SpaceX's reusable launch vehicles.