By AFPMore by this AuthorHuailai, China,China on Thursday completed a test of its Mars exploration lander ahead of Beijing's first mission to the red planet slated for 2020. IMPORTANTAdvertisementThe test is "an important part" of China's plans to land on Mars, said Zhang Kejian, director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA). "I'm pretty optimistic about China's 2020 Mars exploration mission," said Jiao Weixin, a professor at the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Peking University. The CNSA emphasised Beijing's desire to collaborate with other countries and institutions at Thursday's test, which was observed by dozens of diplomats and foreign journalists. China has plans for future space missions, including "asteroid exploration missions and many more lunar missions", said Zhang, the CNSA director.

Source: Daily Nation November 14, 2019 12:56 UTC