A Chinese spacecraft, which left Earth in July, is expected to land on Mars in May 2021, said spokesperson of the mission Liu Tongjie as reported by a local news channel.

The spacecraft is set to land in Utopia Planitia, a plain in the northern hemisphere of the planet.

The United States and United Arab Emirates also launched separate spacecrafts enroute Mars this year. Only the US one will however attempt landing.

In recent years, China has made space exploration a top priority as it is tries to become a space power by 2030.

In 2003, China became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket after the former Soviet Union and the United States.