China is planning to launch a Mars probe in the year 2020 to carry out an independent exploration of the Red Planet after a joint mission with Russia…

China is planning to launch a Mars probe in the year 2020 to carry out an independent exploration of the Red Planet after a joint mission with Russia failed in 2011, said Ye Peijian, a top space scientist and national political adviser

The probe is expected to reach Mars in 2021 after a flight of seven to ten months, he said on Friday during the annual session of the national political advisory body in Beijing. "Consensus has been reached among policymakers and leading scientists," he said

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the main contractor of China's space missions, said on Friday that the Mars exploration is among the 10 major orders that Long March 5, the country's next-generation heavy lift rocket, has received so far

Other orders include the Chang'e-5 lunar probe mission that is expected to bring back soil from the moon around 2017, and the much-anticipated space station's core module that will be launched around 2020

The size and structure of the Mars probe will be similar to Chang'e-3, China's first lunar lander that was launched in 2013, though there are many differences, he said

At present, scientists have started making technological preparations for communications, possible landing on the Mars, and how to deal with the planet's extreme environment, he said

"There are many challenges in front of us ... but I think it is likely we will send the probe to Mars given our all-out efforts, the know-how we gained from past missions and everybody's support," he said