Concept illustration released in 2016 by the lunar probe and space project center of Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence shows what the Mars rover and lander would look like.
Concept illustration released in 2016 by the lunar probe and space project center of Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence shows what the Mars rover and lander would look like.
Illustration/Handout/Xinhua/CNSA
CNN  — 

China’s space agency revealed the name of its first Mars exploration mission on Friday, and said the mission is on track to take place “in the coming months.”

The mission has been named “Tianwen 1,” the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said in a statement on Friday, following the naming of the country’s planetary exploration program “Tianwen,” meaning “quest for heavenly truth.”

The program was named after a long poem by ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan, according to CNSA.

China completed its first public test of a Mars lander in November last year, keeping the country on track for an unmanned exploration mission to the red planet in 2020.

This aerial photo taken on April 17, 2019 shows "Mars Base 1", a C-Space Project, in the Gobi desert, some 40 km from Jinchang in China's northwest Gansu province on April 17, 2019.
This aerial photo taken on April 17, 2019 shows "Mars Base 1", a C-Space Project, in the Gobi desert, some 40 km from Jinchang in China's northwest Gansu province on April 17, 2019.
WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images

The space agency said the mission to Mars is due to take place “in the coming months,” according to a statement released on Friday.

So far, the United States and the former Soviet Union are the only two countries to land a spacecraft on Mars, but the European Space Agency and India have successfully sent spacecraft to enter the planet’s orbit.

TOPSHOT - This picture released on January 11, 2019 by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) via CNS shows the Yutu-2 moon rover, taken by the Chang'e-4 lunar probe on the far side of the moon. - China will seek to establish an international lunar base one day, possibly using 3D printing technology to build facilities, the Chinese space agency said on January 14, weeks after landing the rover on the moon's far side. The agency said four more lunar missions are planned, confirming the launch of a probe by the end of the year to bring back samples from the moon. (Photo by - / China National Space Administration (CNSA) via CNS / AFP) / China OUT (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - This picture released on January 11, 2019 by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) via CNS shows the Yutu-2 moon rover, taken by the Chang'e-4 lunar probe on the far side of the moon. - China will seek to establish an international lunar base one day, possibly using 3D printing technology to build facilities, the Chinese space agency said on January 14, weeks after landing the rover on the moon's far side. The agency said four more lunar missions are planned, confirming the launch of a probe by the end of the year to bring back samples from the moon. (Photo by - / China National Space Administration (CNSA) via CNS / AFP) / China OUT (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)
-/AFP/AFP via Getty Images

Related article Chinese space mission reveals what it's like on the farside of the moon

The probe will study the soil, geological structure, environment and atmosphere of Mars, according to CNSA.

The robotic probe will be made up of an orbiter, lander and a six-wheeled rover, which will have solar panels and carry 13 scientific instruments, according to CNSA. The administration said the probe is due to land on Mars before July 2021, after which the 200-kilogram (441-pound) machine will work for around three months.

Last year, China announced it had opened a Mars simulation base in Qinghai’s Qaidam Basin, a hyper-arid region in western China that is the highest desert on Earth and long considered one of the best parallels with the Martian surface on our own planet.

This picture taken on April 17, 2019 shows a woman wearing a spacesuit walking out of "Mars Base 1", a C-Space Project, in the Gobi desert, some 40 kilometres from Jinchang in China's northwest Gansu province. Surrounded by barren hills in northwest Gansu province, "Mars Base 1" opened to the public on April 17 with the aim of exposing teens -- and soon tourists -- to what life could be like on the planet.
This picture taken on April 17, 2019 shows a woman wearing a spacesuit walking out of "Mars Base 1", a C-Space Project, in the Gobi desert, some 40 kilometres from Jinchang in China's northwest Gansu province. Surrounded by barren hills in northwest Gansu province, "Mars Base 1" opened to the public on April 17 with the aim of exposing teens -- and soon tourists -- to what life could be like on the planet.
WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images

China was late to the space race – it didn’t send its first satellite into space until 1970, just after the United States put the first man on the moon.

But in the decades since, China has pumped billions of dollars and other resources into research and training. In addition to the Mars mission, China has been actively pursuing lunar exploration.

The Chang’e-4 lunar probe successfully touched down on the far side of the moon last year, a historic first and major achievement for China’s space program.

Preliminary plans are underway for a manned lunar mission in the 2030s. If successful, this would make China only the second country, after the United States, to put a human on the moon.

CNN’s David Culver, Lily Lee and Katie Hunt contributed to this story.