China Outlines Deep Space Exploration Strategy Focused on Habitability and Extraterrestrial Life

China's Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) revealed a long-term strategy focused on planetary habitability and the search for extraterrestrial life. The roadmap includes several planned and potential missions with astrobiological implications. The Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission, scheduled for late 2028, will investigate potential traces of life on Mars. Tianwen-4, launching around 2029, will head to Jupiter and orbit Callisto. A Venus atmospheric particle collection mission is planned for 2033. By 2038, China aims to establish a Mars research station for in-situ resource utilization and biological research. A nuclear-powered mission to Neptune is proposed for around 2039 to study its system's habitability. China is also developing the "Earth 2.0" exoplanet observatory, scheduled to launch in 2028, to potentially detect a second Earth. DSEL posted the roadmap on March 26.