China is planning to send a rover to Mars to collect samples and search for alien life within the next six years.

Ouyang Ziyuan, also known as the father of Chang'e, said the Mars program will focus on creating space probes on the red planet.

According to the chief scientist of the country's lunar project, China's space agency plans to reach Mars by 2020.

It will look to collect its own samples over the following 10 years, while also looking for extraterrestrial life and determining if the planet could support life.

Ouyang was speaking at the International Planetarium Society Conference in Beijing on Tuesday, during which he presented time schedules for the mission.

China's space agency currently has Jade Rabbit (Yutu) on the moon. It was the nation's first soft landing and roving exploration on the Moon. The mission was part of the Chang'e 3 expedition, which as well as landing on the moon was designed to test and develop key technologies for future missions.

Ouyang said another important goal of the Mars mission was to detect solar systems beyond Earth's reach and to compare the origins of earth-like planets with the formation of the solar system.

The most ambitious project of the Chinese space agency is that they hope to 'recreate' a planet based on information obtained through exploration.