China Mars exploration and Tianwen-3 mission

China is advancing its Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission, which has entered the prototype development phase. The mission aims to return at least 500 grams of Martian material to Earth by 2031. To support this, a planetary protection laboratory will be established in Anhui Province to prevent biological contamination between Earth and Mars.

In preparation for the mission, China plans to complete a new generation of AI-driven geological maps of Mars by the end of 2028. Hou Zengqian, chief scientist of the Tianwen-3 mission, announced that the project aims to reconstruct the planet’s hydrological history and establish a Chinese-led system for dividing Martian geological eras to achieve international consensus.

The mapping initiative will integrate data from the Tianwen-1 mission and Zhurong rover with observations from United States and European Space Agency (ESA) probes. By fusing orbital and surface data—including imagery, radar, gravity, and magnetic measurements—researchers intend to create a global database. Findings from the Zhurong rover suggest an ancient intercontinental ocean existed approximately 3.5 billion years ago, with potential short-lived flooding occurring 1.6 billion years ago.

Expected outputs include a 1:5 million scale global geological map, high-detail 1:50,000 scale maps of landing zones, and various thematic atlases. This methodology is intended to serve as a template for future exploration of the Moon, Venus, and asteroids.