Europe and Russia plan to put spacecraft on surface of Mars

Joint mission next year will try to replicate China's recent success of landing robotic craft on planet

On Saturday 15 May, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that the country had landed a robotic spacecraft on Mars. This is an important moment and it could be a taste of things to come.

Until China's Zhurong rover touched down in the Utopia Planitia region of the Mars, only the US had succeeded in operating on the planet's surface. Next year, however, a joint mission by the European Space Agency and Russia will attempt to replicate the success.