Search for signs of life on Mars top goal of China's Tianwen
China's upcoming Tianwen-3 mission aims to be the first in history to collect and return Martian samples to Earth. The primary scientific objective is to search for evidence of past or present microbial life on the planet.
Why it matters
Advancements in sample-return technology are essential for determining the biological history of Mars and the potential for life beyond Earth.
HEFEI – China's Tianwen-3 mission is seeking evidence of whether life has ever existed on Mars, aiming to collect high-value Martian samples and conduct detailed analyses after bringing them to Earth, the mission's chief scientist Hou Zengqian told Xinhua in an interview Thursday.
Searching for potential signs of life on Mars is the top scientific goal of the Tianwen-3 mission, Hou said on the sidelines of the 2026 International Deep Space Exploration Conference, which opened on Thursday in Hefei, the capital of East China's Anhui province.
As a key step in China's planetary exploration program, Tianwen-3, planned for launch around 2028, is expected to become the first Mars sample-return mission in human history. Previously, NASA's Perseverance rover collected shallow surface samples, and will rely on a follow-up mission to return them to Earth. In contrast, Tianwen-3 aims to accomplish both sampling and return in a single mission.
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