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China and Russia to Launch Joint Mars Mission

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the we-might-get-there-someday dept.

The Interfacer writes "China and Russia are planning a joint mission to Mars that will bring back samples to earth and land on one of the red planet's tiny moons, state media quoted a Chinese scientist as saying Wednesday." From the article: "Russia will launch the spacecraft, while China will provide the survey equipment to carry out the unmanned exploration, Ye Peijian, a senior scientist at the Chinese Academy of Space Technology, told a meeting in Beijing, according to the official Xinhua news agency."

4 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. Oh dear. by tygerstripes · · Score: 5, Funny

    Red planet, ha ha.

    --
    Meta will eat itself
  2. or is it civ4? by legoburner · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isaac Asimov: There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere.

    Any space program is good news in my mind.

    --
    Warhammer forums
  3. Why no intercontinental cooperation? by w33t · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What's keeping the US from joining with them?

    If it's feasable that the US alone could go to mars, and that Russia and China together can go to mars - then could not all three work together to achieve this goal better?

    Or is it neccessary to have the "us" and "them" philosophy when it comes to these kinds of projects?

    Must there always be an adversary?

    --
    My Computer Music Tutorial Videos
  4. Re:Why Mars? by SSCGWLB · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well, Mars anv Venus are closest. Unfortunately the atmosphere of Venus is very unfriendly to humans/machines.

    Venus has an extremely thick atmosphere, which consists mainly of carbon dioxide and a small amount of nitrogen. The pressure at the planet's surface is about 90 times that at Earth's surface--a pressure equivalent to that at a depth of 1 kilometer under Earth's oceans. The enormously CO2-rich atmosphere generates a strong greenhouse effect that raises the surface temperature to over 400 C." cite.

    The next closest planets are Mercury and Jupiter, you wouldn't want to visit them either. Mercury is basically a semi-molten ball of rock, Jupiter is no treat with its high gravity, high winds, and very little (if any) crust. The planets don't get any better the further you get away from the sun. Basically, Mars is the only planet close enough and similiar enough to Earth to have any hope of visiting (and staying) for any useful amount of time.