China's Tianwen-1 Doing Well On Journey To Mars, Officials Say

China was just one of the three nations that successfully launched a major Mars mission earlier this year. This past weekend, Chinese authorities gave an update on their probe, noting that it is in "stable condition."

It was in July when three nations launched their own Mars missions, taking advantage of the window that allows for a shorter journey to the Red Planet. In a span of a few weeks, the United Arab Emirates, China and the United States all successfully launched their Mars missions in what appears to be a modern take on the space race.

Just days after it launched, China's Tianwen-1 even managed to look back and snap a picture to say goodbye to the Earth before fully heading to its destination, capturing a photo of the Earth and the moon as two crescents in the space.

This weekend, Chinese authorities gave an update on the spacecraft, noting that the Tianwen-1 probe is in "stable condition" months after it was launched aboard the Long March-5 on July 23. As The Associated Press reports, China's National Space Administration noted that the spacecraft is now 15 million kilometers (9 million miles) away from the Earth, which is already a considerable way to its target planet.

Just like the UAE and NASA missions, Tianwen-1 is expected to reach Mars by February of 2021 when the rover, lander and orbiter will begin the nation's first exploration of Mars. And although the three missions appear to be major players in a space rivalry, together, they may actually help provide a clearer picture of Mars and, in some ways, the Earth. In fact, the UAE space agency even partnered with NASA veterans for its mission.

For its part, China's Tianwen-1 mission, particularly the rover, will search for ice and water while also studying the Martian atmosphere. NASA's Mars Perseverance rover will search for signs of ancient life and collect Mars samples, while the UAE's Hope mission aims to get the first complete picture of the Martian atmosphere as well as a better understanding of the planet's weather and climate.

In some ways, although the missions each have distinct scientific goals of their own, they may all contribute to the bigger goal of understanding the Red Planet better.