China to establish planetary protection lab ahead of Mars sample-return mission
China continues to advance its Mars sample-return mission, with plans to build a planetary protection laboratory in the initial phase of Hefei’s Deep-Space Science City in Anhui Province, eastern China, according to the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL), which will operate part of the laboratory, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Xinhua.
The planetary protection laboratory will establish a dual safeguard system, protecting both the Martian samples upon return and Earth’s biosphere. It will handle sample sterilization, unsealing, processing, and biological risk evaluation. The facility is built to support extensive deep-space missions and facilitate scientific research of Martian samples.
In April, the China National Space Administration released the implementation roadmap for the Tianwen-3 mission. The launch is planned for around 2028, with sample collection and return to Earth expected to be finished by approximately 2031.
Li Hang, director of the development planning department at DSEL, said the laboratory will support scientific research on extraterrestrial samples. He also confirmed that China will follow the Committee on Space Research’s planetary protection policies to prevent biological contamination of Mars by terrestrial organisms and to protect Earth from any potential extraterrestrial life forms that may be carried back in the samples.
China’s new laboratory is integrated into its interplanetary exploration efforts. In May 2021, China’s Zhurong rover landed in southern Utopia Planitia on Mars. By May 2022, it had traveled 1,921 meters across the Martian surface and gathered extensive scientific data.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced the results of its selection for international collaboration on Tianwen-3, China’s first Mars sample-return mission.
