Speaking at the China Space Conference on Sept.18, held in Fuzhou, Wang Xiaojun, dean of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, mentioned the concept of manned Mars exploration in the future in his keynote report. “We envision the future manned Mars exploration in three steps,” reported The Paper journalist Zhang Jing yesterday.
“The first step is a robotic probe, including Mars sampling and return, site selection and inspection of Mars bases, and the construction of a system of in situ resource utilization. The second step is the initial probe, including a manned orbital probe, detecting a possible manned Mars landing site, and a Mars base construction site. The third step is manned flight exploration of Mars, including a large-scale Mars transportation fleet, large-scale exploitation and utilization, and the creation of a complete Mars-based economic circuit.”
Wang Xiaojun said that Mars is the most promising planet in the Solar System for human beings to migrate to. Mars exploration is of great significance to mankind. It is an important way for mankind to get out of the cradle of the Earth, explore the origin of life, and expand living space.
