An unmanned spacecraft blasted off Thursday on a yearlong journey to Mars beginning one of Chinas most ambitious space miss
HAINAN ISLAND, China — An unmanned spacecraft blasted off Thursday on a yearlong journey to Mars, beginning one of China’s most ambitious space missions to date.
The Tianwen-1 lifted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch site on China’s southern Hainan Island aboard a Long March 5 rocket as hundreds of cheering fans gathered on beaches across the bay to witness the event.
The Tianwen-1, which translates into «Heavenly Questions» or «Questions to Heaven,» is expected to reach the Red Planet by February.
