Beijing, May 15: China has landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time in the latest advance for its space programme. The official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday that the lander had touched down, citing the China National Space Administration.

Plans call for a rover to stay in the lander for a few days of diagnostic tests before rolling down a ramp to explore an icy area of Mars known as Utopia Planitia. It will join an American one that arrived at the red planet in February. Super Blood Moon 2021 Date and Time: When Is the First Total Lunar Eclipse of the Year? All You Need to Know About the Astronomical Event.

China's first Mars landing follows its launch last month of the main section of what will be a permanent space station and a mission that brought back rocks from the moon late last year. The US has had nine successful landings on Mars since 1976.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)