China does key test on Mars probe lander

Present during the experiment were ambassadors and other diplomats from 19 nations including France, Italy and Brazil, representatives from the delegations of the European Union and African Union to China and the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, as well as some domestic and foreign reporters.

A testing version of China's Mars probe lander conducted hovering and obstacle-evading operations in a simulated Martian gravitational environment at Asia's largest testing site for landing on extraterrestrial bodies.

Ye Peijian, a leading scientist in deep-space exploration at the China Academy of Space Technology, said last month that China's Mars exploration program is proceeding well and will be the country's first planetary expedition.