Landing of Chinese Mars rover an "incredible achievement", says Australian scientist

CANBERRA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Landing of the Chinese Mars rover is "an incredible achievement", said an Australian scientist in an interview with Xinhua.

The lander carrying China's first Mars rover touched down on the red planet early Saturday morning Beijing Time, marking the first time that China has landed a probe on a planet other than Earth.

"It's a really significant landing, because usually when you first go to another planet, you put down a static platform and just basically look around, taking photos," said Trevor Ireland, a professor in planetary science at the Australian National University.

"The Chinese space agency (China National Space Administration) has done the additional really difficult step of actually putting a rover on the surface of Mars," he said. "Landing a spacecraft on Mars which is on the other side of the solar system has to be autonomous. You can't control it. So everything has worked flawlessly and perfectly."

Ireland said he looked forward to the roving of the robot on the surface of Mars.

According to the scientist, they had analyzed Martian rocks through meteorites. "We're very interested to see how the surface of Mars actually corresponds to what we have on the meteorite collection."

He also hoped that in the future, samples could be taken back from the Mars, and he noted it would take some time.

Ireland said that Mars went dry some 3.5 billion years ago and water lines are seen on the surface of the planet.

"What were the ocean currents doing? Were there bacteria in those oceans? Was there an oxygen rich atmosphere at that time? All of these things are just conjecture...until we get the samples back," he said.

Ireland had collaboration with Chinese counterparts in various Chinese cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou and Qingdao, in terms of scientific output.

"I've really enjoyed being associated with China," he recalled. "It's a magnificent country and I've enjoyed every minute that I've spent there."

He was impressed by the technological development in China as well as the engineering aspects of it. "They're up with everybody else in terms of being able to put a spacecraft on the surface of other planets. I think that's an amazing achievement."

Ireland agreed that Mars exploration could be an area for more collaboration in the future.

"I think space has always been one of those areas where you've had to have collaborations," he said. "The scientists are few in number who specialize in these things that they definitely want to collaborate."