China’s Mars Rover & the Fascination of Space Exploration
For the first time in China’s space expedition history, they have successfully landed a spacecraft on another planet. The ‘Zhurong’ (祝融) rover is part of China’s first space mission ‘Tianwen-1’ (天问). It was designed to investigate the surface geology of Mars and to find evidence of water, ice, and life forms. Prior to CNSA, NASA was the only successfully landed and operable spacecraft on Mars.
There are future plans of developing an international research station on the Moon, led by CNSA and Russia’s Roscosmos, dubbed ‘International Lunar Research Station’ (ILRS). Read more about the roadmap of this programme here.
The location and outside of Mars Base 1
In the Gobi Desert, northwest of Gansu province, C-Space constructed a simulation of a futuristic Mars base. The goal of ‘Mars Base 1’ is to educate and to provide a similar environment of life on Mars that young students and tourists can experience.
It is made of interconnected modules of varying functions: a greenhouse, living and eating quarters, a control room, medical centre, decompression chamber and more. The current heavy focus on tourism aims to inspire the population to the idea of future space exploration. C-Space hopes to develop it into a training centre for future astronauts.
The domed greenhouse with lettuce, wheat, and leeks
Project Mars staff member demonstrates the helmet and space suit
Why this is important
The successful landing of Zhurong places China as another leading figure in the space research programme and valuable in broader plans in space exploration. The success also contributes to valuable knowledge of Mars, and lays the groundwork for sample return missions. The exploration of space brings collective global forces and natural curiosity. The Mars Base 1 is an opportunity for people to explore and experience the idea of living on other planets. Despite the allure of new worlds, it is also an opportunity for all nations to move forward from the ‘East versus West’ narrative and to reflect on the impermanence of the Earth.