周四，中国成功地发射了一个无人驾驶火星探测器，这是中国首次独立执行火星探测任务，此举旨在争夺太空领域的全球领导地位，并展示中国的技术实力和雄心。

China's largest carrier rocket, the Long March 5 Y-4, blasted off with the probe at 12:41 p.m. (0441 GMT) from Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan.

中国最大的运载火箭，长征五号运四号，于中午12:41(格林尼治标准时间04:41)从 Wenchang Space Launch Centre 发射升空。

The probe is expected to reach Mars in February where it will attempt to deploy a rover to explore the planet for 90 days.

该探测器预计在2月（2021年）份到达火星，它将在那里尝试部署一个漫游者去探索这个星球，为期90天。

If successful, the Tianwen-1, or "Questions to Heaven", which is the name of a poem written two millennia ago, will make China the first country to orbit, land and deploy a rover in its inaugural mission.

“天文一号”是两千年前一首诗的名字，如果成功的话，它将使中国成为第一个进行轨道、着陆和部署探测器的国家。

There will be challenges ahead as the craft nears Mars, Liu Tongjie, spokesman for the mission, told reporters ahead of the launch.

随着飞船接近火星，前方将会面临挑战，（中国相关发言人）刘通杰在发射前告诉记者。

"When arriving in the vicinity of Mars, it is very critical to decelerate," he said.

“当到达火星附近时，减速是非常关键的，”他说。

"If the deceleration process is not right, or if flight precision is not sufficient, the probe would not be captured by Mars," he said, referring to gravity on Mars taking the craft down to the surface.

“如果减速过程不正确，或者飞行精度不够，探测器就不会被火星捕获，”他指的是火星上的重力将飞船带到火星表面。

Liu said the probe would orbit Mars for about two and a half months and look for an opportunity to enter its atmosphere and make a soft landing.

探测器将在火星轨道上运行约两个半月，寻找机会进入大气层并软着陆。

"Entering, deceleration and landing (EDL) is a very difficult (process). We believe China's EDL process can still be successful, and the spacecraft can land safely," Liu said.

“进入、减速和着陆(EDL)是一个非常困难的过程。我们相信中国的 EDL 进程仍然能够成功，而且航天器能够安全着陆。

China's probe will carry several scientific instruments to observe the planet's atmosphere and surface, searching for signs of water and ice.

中国的这个探测器携带着多台科学仪器观测火星的大气层和表面，寻找水和冰的迹象。

The Tianwen-1 orbiter will be equipped with a high-resolution camera comparable to HiRise on board NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It also carries a medium-resolution camera, subsurface radar, mineralogy spectrometer, neutral and energetic particle analyzers and a magnetometer. The orbiter will also play a relay role for the mission rover.

天文1号轨道器会配备一个高分辨率相机，可与美国宇航局火星勘测轨道飞行器上的 HiRise 相媲美。它还携带了一个中分辨率照相机、地下雷达、矿物质谱仪、中性和高能粒子分析仪和一个磁力仪。轨道飞行器还将扮演任务漫游者的中继角色。

The roughly 240-kilogram solar-powered rover is nearly twice the mass of China’s Yutu lunar rovers. It will carry a ground-penetrating radar, multispectral camera, a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy instrument and payloads for detecting the climate and magnetic environment. The rover has a mission design lifetime of three Earth months.

这个大约240公斤重的太阳能车几乎是中国玉兔月球车质量的两倍。它会携带一台透地雷达、多光谱相机、一台激光诱导击穿光谱仪以及用于探测气候和磁场环境的有效载荷。探测器的任务设计寿命为3个地球月。

中国火星探索计划前期失败的经验：

China previously made a Mars bid in 2011 with Russia, but the Russian spacecraft carrying the probe failed to exit the Earth's orbit and disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean.

中国曾在2011年与俄罗斯一起申请火星探测器，但是俄罗斯携带的探测器未能脱离地球轨道，在太平洋上空解体。

火星探索现状2020年：

Eight spacecraft - American, European and Indian - are either orbiting Mars or on its surface with other missions underway or planned.

（截止2020年）已经有八个航天器——美国、欧洲和印度——它们要么在绕火星轨道运行，要么在火星表面，正在执行或计划执行其他任务。

The United Arab Emirates launched a mission to Mars on Monday, an orbiter that will study the planet's atmosphere.

周一，阿拉伯联合酋长国（借用了日本的航天技术）发射了一枚火星探测器，该探测器将研究火星大气层。

The United States has plans to send a probe in coming months that will deploy a rover called Perseverance, the biggest, heaviest, most advanced vehicle sent to the Red Planet by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

美国计划在未来几个月（2020年）发射一个探测器，名为“毅力号”，这是美国国家航空航天局(NASA)发送到火星的最大、最重、最先进的探测器。

中国火星探索计划“天问号”的命名与寓意：

《天问》是中国战国时期诗人屈原创作的一首长诗。此诗从天地离分、阴阳变化、日月星辰等自然现象，一直问到神话传说乃至圣贤凶顽和治乱兴衰等历史故事，表现了作者对某些传统观念的大胆怀疑，以及追求真理的探索精神。语言别具一格，句式以四言为主，不用语尾助词，四句一节，每节一韵，节奏音韵自然协调。全诗通篇是对天地、自然和人世等一切事物现象的发问，内容奇绝，显示出作者沉潜多思、思想活跃、想象丰富的个性，表现出超卓非凡的学识和惊人的艺术才华，被誉为是“千古万古至奇之作”。