China is compiling a new-generation, full-Mars geological map, Hou Zengqian, academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief scientist for the Tianwen-3 mission, said in an interview at the 2026 Deep Space Exploration (Tiandu) International Conference on the 3rd. He said Tianwen-3, a key step in China’s planetary exploration program, aims primarily to search for potential traces of life, could become the first successful Mars sample-return mission in history, and should have its final l

China is compiling a new-generation, full-Mars geological map, Hou Zengqian, academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief scientist for the Tianwen-3 mission, said in an interview at the 2026 Deep Space Exploration (Tiandu) International Conference on the 3rd. He said Tianwen-3, a key step in China’s planetary exploration program, aims primarily to search for potential traces of life, could become the first successful Mars sample-return mission in history, and should have its final landing site confirmed by end-2026.