CHINA’S Tianwen-3 robotic probe is expected to become the world’s first Mars sample return mission, setting the search for proof of past life on the Red Planet as its top scientific goal, according to Hou Zengqian, the mission’s chief scientist.

China expects to finalize the landing site for the mission by the end of 2026, while Chinese scientists are advancing work on a new-generation geological map of the entire Mars, he said.

Mars is one of the terrestrial planets in the solar system most similar to Earth and is widely considered a celestial body that may have once harbored life beyond Earth. Although Mars has evolved into a cold and arid planet with a thin atmosphere and no global magnetic field, its past habitability and the possibility that life once existed there remain among the most important frontier questions in planetary science.

Over the past half-century, 47 Mars exploration missions have been conducted worldwide. However, more challenging endeavors, including sample-return and crewed missions to Mars, have yet to achieve a decisive breakthrough.

“The Tianwen-3 mission will look for microbial traces potentially similar to early forms of life on Earth, while also taking into consideration the possibility of unknown forms of life that may have emerged through Mars’ unique evolutionary history, providing crucial evidence to answer this major scientific question,” Hou said.

The mission could also deepen scientific understanding of the planet’s climate evolution and geological processes and advance research in comparative planetology and the origins of life, the scientist said.

According to Hou, Mars sample return is an extremely complex project, with landing-site selection, planetary protection and contamination control, and the identification of potential signs of life among its key challenges.

Chinese scientists are selecting candidate landing sites for the mission based on factors that include geological age, history of water activity, habitability and the potential for preserving biosignatures.

China will also build the world’s first planetary protection laboratory to prevent terrestrial microorganisms from contaminating Mars while ensuring the safe isolation of returned samples, according to Hou.(Xinhua)