China on track to launch Mars sample-return mission in 2028: 'If accurate, this represents a Sputnik moment'

Meanwhile, NASA's plans for hauling Mars samples to Earth are murky at the moment. com. Searching for potential signs of life on Mars is the top scientific goal of the Tianwen 3 mission, Hou said on Sept. Landing siteChina's Mars sample-return trek will be launched "around 2028" on two Long March 5 rockets departing from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China's southernmost island province of Hainan. (Launch windows for Mars missions come around just once every 26 months. The lab's tasks encompass sample sterilization, unsealing, processing and biological risk assessment. You can view a video about China's Mars sample return plans here. Leonard David is an award-winning space journalist who has been reporting on space activities for more than 50 years. com's Space Insider Columnist among his other projects, Leonard has authored numerous books on space exploration, Mars missions and more, with his latest being "Moon Rush: The New Space Race" published in 2019 by National Geographic. He also wrote "Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet" released in 2016 by National Geographic. Leonard has served as a correspondent for SpaceNews, Scientific American and Aerospace America for the AIAA. He has received many awards, including the first Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History in 2015 at the AAS Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium. You can find out Leonard's latest project at his website and on Twitter.