Tianwen-1: China launches first independent mission to Mars

‘Tianwen’ – which translates to ‘Questions to Heaven’ – will take seven months to reach Mars.

China has launched its first independent mission to Mars.

It will take seven months to reach the Red Planet, where it will attempt to land and release a rover that will explore the planet and conduct experiments.

This is just one of a number of ambitious space projects by China, but it has competition.

Al Jazeera’s Laura Burdon-Manley reports.