China to collect samples from Mars by 2030: Xinhua

BEIJING (AFP) - China is planning to collect samples from the surface of Mars by 2030, according to the chief scientist of the country's lunar orbiter project, state media reported on Wednesday.

Mr Ouyang Ziyuan said the mission would have three stages - remote sensing, soft-landing and exploration, and return after automatic sampling, Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying in a lecture organised by the Chinese Society of Astronautics.

Mr Ouyang also briefed attendees on the tests and work to be carried out by China's lunar probe, the Chang'e-3, which is expected to touch down on the moon in the second half of 2013.

He said the probe could help build a telecommunications network that would cover a future Mars probe and said samples taken from the moon would be returned to earth, Xinhua reported.