With the successful arrival of its first robot on Mars, China is catching up with the United States in the discovery of the red planet.
An important symbol for Chinese power, which brings back a conquering image of the country to its inhabitants, as the Communist Party prepares to celebrate its hundredth anniversary.
ANALYSIS
The Perseverance robot is no longer alone on Mars.
China has just put its own robot, called Zhurong, on the red planet.
Weighing about 240 kilos, he must carry out analyzes of the soil and the atmosphere of the Red Planet.
A feat for Beijing, which now shows that the Chinese power has the scientific and financial means to establish itself as a major player, against the United States, to conquer space.
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A substantial space program
If NASA keeps one step ahead, with five successful missions to Mars since 1997, it loses its monopoly position with the arrival of the Chinese robot.
An important detail, desired by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who wants to raise China to the rank of first world power by 2035.
Zhurong's arrival on Mars is just one success among many for China. Launch of the first element of its future inhabited station on April 29, collection of materials on the Moon last December… The Land of the Rising Sun is investing heavily in space programs. An investment that coincides with the hundredth anniversary of the creation of the Chinese Communist Party, in July 2021. The country, through its conquest of space, wishes to convey to its inhabitants the image of a strong, powerful and conquering China, on Earth as elsewhere.