MOSCOW, Feb. 11 -- Russian astronautics experts praised China's achievements in space exploration after China's Tianwen-1 probe successfully entered the Martian orbit on Wednesday.

The experts told Xinhua that they look forward to closer cooperation between nations, particularly between Russia and China, in interplanetary travels and the peaceful use of outer space.

GREAT SUCCESS

"Tianwen-1 is China's first independent interplanetary mission. We hope for its success. The research results will undoubtedly become an important contribution to science," said Aleksandr Zheleznyakov, a Russian historian of astronautics.

"China's deep space exploration program deserves the highest praise. It is characterized by consistency, balance and ambition," he said.

Zheleznyakov believes that Chinese scientists have already shown great capabilities by landing Chang'e-4 probe on the far side of the moon and bringing to Earth the country's first lunar samples through Chang'e-5 probe.

"Chinese astronautics has been rapidly advancing in recent years. Great strides have been made in lunar missions," said Vladimir Surdin, an associate professor at the Physics Faculty of Moscow State University.

He stressed that exploring Mars is an even more complex task as about half of Mars-bound spacecraft have gone astray.

Surdin expressed hope that Tianwen-1 will successfully land on Mars and its rover will provide new findings to scientists around the world, which will be a "tremendous success."

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

"Mars has long attracted human attention. Previously, we observed it through telescopes. Today, we use automatic spacecraft and tomorrow a man might fly there," Zheleznyakov said.

"After the moon, Mars has become the next goal of mankind in space exploration. Under favorable circumstances, the first manned expedition might take place in the middle of this century and many of those living today will witness this landmark event," he said.

In his view, it is more economical to implement large projects via international cooperation, which is also the case when it comes to the study of Mars.

Surdin also believes that deep space exploration requires an international partnership since every industrialized country has its own advantages and knowledge exchange is significant.

Both experts hope for closer cooperation between China and Russia in space science as the countries are traditional partners.

"Russia has accumulated tremendous experience in planetary exploration, especially the study of Venus. I hope that our cooperation will strengthen in order to achieve (a) common success," Surdin said.