China wants to be the first country to explore surface of Mars

Preparations for China's ambitious mission to Mars in 2020 are "going smoothly", a top space scientist said, as he told a forum of the potential for "robotic and human settlement" on the mysterious planet.

Zhang Rongqiao said China was seeking to become the first country to conduct joint orbital and surface exploration of Mars.

A probe would provide data on temperature, atmospheric conditions and landscape.

Zhang, the chief architect of the mission, said the probe would be made up of an orbiter, lander and rover.

"The lander will separate from the orbiter at the end of a journey of about seven months and touch down in a low-latitude area in the northern hemisphere of Mars, where the rover will explore the surface," said state news agency Xinhua.

As the surface mission collects data, the orbiter will monitor the Red Planet's "atmosphere" and "key scientific indicators", the China Daily newspaper said.

Planning for the mission "is going smoothly", Zhang told a forum on lunar and deep space exploration in Beijing, according to the English-language newspaper.

"Studying Mars's evolution can help us answer some of the key questions in cosmology," he said.

The 2020 Mars mission has previously been reported in Chinese media, but few details have emerged since last year.

The probe will be launched on a Long March-5 carrier rocket from China's southern Hainan Island, state media said.