China's "Zhurong" rover, part of its ambitious space programme to send a probe to Mars, is set to attempt the challenging landing on the Red Planet in the next five days, Beijing's space agency said Friday.

The tricky touchdown, if successful, would come a few months behind America's latest probe to Mars, as Beijing presses ahead with its increasingly bold space ambitions.

"Based on current flight conditions, the&nbsp;Tianwen-1&nbsp;probe intends to choose an opportunity to land ... in the period from early morning Saturday to Wednesday Beijing time," the China National Space Administration said in an online statement.

The launch of the&nbsp;Tianwen-1&nbsp;Mars probe last July marked a major milestone in China's space programme, which Beijing views as a sign of its rising global stature and technological might.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/watch-high-resolution-images-from-chinas-mars-probe-shared-367889">Watch | High-resolution images from China's Mars probe shared</a>

The spacecraft, which entered Mars' orbit in February, has now reached a "crucial touchdown stage", the state-run tabloid Global Times said Friday. It will land in a vast northern lava plain known as the Utopia Planitia.

Speculation about a Saturday landing has been rife on social media after a top spaceflight expert estimated the rover, named after a mythological Chinese fire god, would reach the surface in the morning Beijing time.

The complicated landing process has been called the "seven minutes of terror" because it happens faster than radio signals can reach Earth from Mars, meaning communications are limited.

The several US, Russian and European attempts to land rovers on Mars have failed in the past, most recently in 2016 with the crash-landing of the Schiaparelli joint Russian-European spacecraft.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-tech/europes-mars-probe-crashes-seconds-before-landing-esa-7759">Europe's Mars probe crashes seconds before landing: ESA</a>

The latest successful arrival came in February when US space agency NASA landed its rover Perseverance, which has since been exploring the planet.&nbsp;

The US rover launched a small robotic helicopter on Mars which was the first-ever powered flight on another planet.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/perseverance-rover-captures-sound-of-ingenuity-flying-on-mars-383610">Perseverance rover captures sound of Ingenuity flying on Mars</a>

Six-wheeled, solar-powered and roughly 240 kilograms, the Chinese rover will collect and analyse rock samples from Mars' surface.&nbsp;

It is expected to spend around three months there.&nbsp;

If successful, China will be the world's first country to carry out an orbiting, landing and roving operation during its first mission to Mars.

It will become just the third nation to safely touch down on the Red Planet after Russia and the United States.

The country has come a long way in its race to catch up with the United States and Russia, whose astronauts and cosmonauts have decades of experience in space exploration.

China successfully launched the first module of its new space station last month with hopes of having it crewed by 2022 and eventually sending humans to the&nbsp;Moon.

Last week a segment of the Chinese Long March 5B rocket disintegrated over the Indian Ocean in an uncontrolled landing back to Earth.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/chinese-rocket-segment-disintegrates-over-indian-ocean-383776">Chinese rocket segment disintegrates over Indian Ocean</a>

That drew criticism from the United States and other nations for a breach of etiquette governing the return of space debris to earth, with officials saying the remnants had the potential to endanger life and property.

China's "Zhurong" rover, part of its ambitious space programme to send a probe to Mars, is set to attempt the challenging landing on the Red Planet in the next five days, Beijing's space agency said Friday.

China's "Zhurong" rover, part of its ambitious space programme to send a probe to Mars, is set to attempt the challenging landing on the Red Planet in the next five days, Beijing's space agency said Friday. The tricky touchdown, if successful, would come a few months behind America's latest probe to Mars, as Beijing presses ahead with its increasingly bold space ambitions. "Based on current flight conditions, the Tianwen-1 probe intends to choose an opportunity to land ... in the period from early morning Saturday to Wednesday Beijing time," the China National Space Administration said in an online statement. The launch of the Tianwen-1 Mars probe last July marked a major milestone in China's space programme, which Beijing views as a sign of its rising global stature and technological might. Also read | Watch | High-resolution images from China's Mars probe shared The spacecraft, which entered Mars' orbit in February, has now reached a "crucial touchdown stage", the state-run tabloid Global Times said Friday. It will land in a vast northern lava plain known as the Utopia Planitia. Speculation about a Saturday landing has been rife on social media after a top spaceflight expert estimated the rover, named after a mythological Chinese fire god, would reach the surface in the morning Beijing time. The complicated landing process has been called the "seven minutes of terror" because it happens faster than radio signals can reach Earth from Mars, meaning communications are limited. The several US, Russian and European attempts to land rovers on Mars have failed in the past, most recently in 2016 with the crash-landing of the Schiaparelli joint Russian-European spacecraft. Also read | Europe's Mars probe crashes seconds before landing: ESA The latest successful arrival came in February when US space agency NASA landed its rover Perseverance, which has since been exploring the planet. The US rover launched a small robotic helicopter on Mars which was the first-ever powered flight on another planet. Also read | Perseverance rover captures sound of Ingenuity flying on Mars Six-wheeled, solar-powered and roughly 240 kilograms, the Chinese rover will collect and analyse rock samples from Mars' surface. It is expected to spend around three months there. If successful, China will be the world's first country to carry out an orbiting, landing and roving operation during its first mission to Mars. It will become just the third nation to safely touch down on the Red Planet after Russia and the United States. The country has come a long way in its race to catch up with the United States and Russia, whose astronauts and cosmonauts have decades of experience in space exploration. China successfully launched the first module of its new space station last month with hopes of having it crewed by 2022 and eventually sending humans to the Moon. Last week a segment of the Chinese Long March 5B rocket disintegrated over the Indian Ocean in an uncontrolled landing back to Earth. Also read | Chinese rocket segment disintegrates over Indian Ocean That drew criticism from the United States and other nations for a breach of etiquette governing the return of space debris to earth, with officials saying the remnants had the potential to endanger life and property.

China rover to attempt Mars landing over coming days

China's Tianwen-1 probe entered the orbit of the planet Mars on Wednesday,&nbsp;after a nearly seven-month voyage from Earth, its space agency said, in the country's first independent mission to the red planet.

The robotic probe initiated and completed a 15-minute burn of its thrusters, the China National Space Administration said in a statement, slowing the spacecraft to a speed at which it could be captured by the pull of Mars' gravity.

The probe has already sent back its first image of Mars,&nbsp;a black-and-white photo that showed geological features including the Schiaparelli crater and the Valles Marineris, a vast stretch of canyons on the Martian surface.

Also read| <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/mars-ahead-chinas-tianwen-1-probe-snaps-first-photo-of-red-planet-361679">Mars ahead! China's Tianwen-1 probe snaps first photo of red planet</a>

According to&nbsp;Chi&nbsp;Wang, head of the National Space Science Center at the Chinese Academy of Sciences,&nbsp;"Scientifically, Tianwen-1 is the most comprehensive mission to investigate the Martian morphology, geology, mineralogy, space environment and soil and water-ice distribution.''

In about three months, the Tianwen-1 will attempt to send a landing capsule carrying a 240-kilogramme rover in a rapid seven-minute descent onto a massive plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars known as Utopia Planitia.

If the landing is successful, the solar-powered rover will explore the Martian surface for 90 days, studying its soil and seeking signs of ancient life, including any sub-surface water and ice using ground-penetrating radar.

Tianwen-1, or "Questions to Heaven", the name of a Chinese poem written two millennia ago, is China's first independent mission to the planet after a probe co-launched with Russia failed to leave the Earth's orbit in 2011.

The probe is one of three reaching Mars this month. The Hope spacecraft launched by the United Arab Emirates successfully entered the planet's orbit on Tuesday. Hope will not make a landing but will orbit Mars gathering data on its weather and atmosphere.

In the United States' most ambitious Mars mission, the 1-tonne Perseverance probe is expected to arrive on February&nbsp;18.&nbsp;

It is on a mission to look for signs of ancient microbial life and will attempt to fly a 1.8-kilogram helicopter-drone on another planet for the first time.&nbsp;

China's Tianwen-1 probe entered the orbit of the planet Mars on Wednesday, after a nearly seven-month voyage from Earth, its space agency said, in the country's first independent mission to the red planet.

China's Tianwen-1 probe entered the orbit of the planet Mars on Wednesday, after a nearly seven-month voyage from Earth, its space agency said, in the country's first independent mission to the red planet. The robotic probe initiated and completed a 15-minute burn of its thrusters, the China National Space Administration said in a statement, slowing the spacecraft to a speed at which it could be captured by the pull of Mars' gravity. The probe has already sent back its first image of Mars, a black-and-white photo that showed geological features including the Schiaparelli crater and the Valles Marineris, a vast stretch of canyons on the Martian surface. Also read| Mars ahead! China's Tianwen-1 probe snaps first photo of red planet According to Chi Wang, head of the National Space Science Center at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, "Scientifically, Tianwen-1 is the most comprehensive mission to investigate the Martian morphology, geology, mineralogy, space environment and soil and water-ice distribution.'' In about three months, the Tianwen-1 will attempt to send a landing capsule carrying a 240-kilogramme rover in a rapid seven-minute descent onto a massive plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars known as Utopia Planitia. If the landing is successful, the solar-powered rover will explore the Martian surface for 90 days, studying its soil and seeking signs of ancient life, including any sub-surface water and ice using ground-penetrating radar. Tianwen-1, or "Questions to Heaven", the name of a Chinese poem written two millennia ago, is China's first independent mission to the planet after a probe co-launched with Russia failed to leave the Earth's orbit in 2011. The probe is one of three reaching Mars this month. The Hope spacecraft launched by the United Arab Emirates successfully entered the planet's orbit on Tuesday. Hope will not make a landing but will orbit Mars gathering data on its weather and atmosphere. In the United States' most ambitious Mars mission, the 1-tonne Perseverance probe is expected to arrive on February 18. It is on a mission to look for signs of ancient microbial life and will attempt to fly a 1.8-kilogram helicopter-drone on another planet for the first time.

Chinese spacecraft Tianwen-1 successfully enters Mars orbit

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China rover to attempt Mars landing over coming days

Chinese spacecraft Tianwen-1 successfully enters Mars orbit