Beijing, May 15, 2021, SPA -- China has successfully landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time, the Chinese space agency has announced, according to dpa. The landing module of the Tianwen-1 spacecraft touched down on the surface of the Red Planet on Saturday morning with the Zhurong rover on board. Tianwen-1 took off from Earth on July 23 and reached the red planet's orbit in February. A parachute and brake thrusters helped slow down the Chinese probe; the vehicle initially hovered about 100 metres above the Martian surface to identify obstacles before finding a suitable landing site. The rover weighs around 240 kilograms, has six wheels and four solar panels and can move on the surface of Mars at 200 metres per hour. It carries scientific instruments that will be used to gather information about the composition of the planet's surface and its geological structure and climate. --SPA 12:58 LOCAL TIME 09:58 GMT 0012 www.spa.gov.sa/w1558127