China launches its Mars lander-probe

[brian livesey]

Yesterday, China successfully launched its Mars-lander from Wenchang Space Centre on the southern island of Hainan. China's largest lift vehicle the Long March 5 Y-4.
In 2020 Mars will be at its closest distance to Earth.
It's expected that the probe will arrive at Mars in February. It will attempt to land on the vast Utopia Planetia plain. This is China's first independent mission to another planet. If successful, the mission will place China in the top league of space-faring nations.