China’s Mars Mission, Tianwen-1, Begins Its Monthslong Journey

China set off on what it hoped would be its first successful journey to Mars on Thursday, launching a combined orbiter, lander and rover to the red planet on a voyage that will last until next year.

If successful, the mission would affirm China’s place among the top spacefaring nations, able to plan and carry out complex interplanetary missions on its own. Only the United States and, briefly, the Soviet Union have previously succeeded in landing a vehicle on the planet.

As ever in China, the launch was shrouded in secrecy in advance, though unofficial video streams posted by Chinese viewers showed the vessel beginning to rise at 12:41 p.m. from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Hainan Island, ringed by crystal blue waters.

Crowds cheered from nearby beaches as the rocket traveled toward the south and east through clear skies on its way out of Earth’s atmosphere.