FILE: Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, Hainan Province, south China - July 23, 2020 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Long March-5 Y4 rocket carrying Mars probe Tianwen-1 blasting off from launch pad
2. Various of screen showing rocket flying

FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Animation of China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 flying in space
4. Screen showing Mars probe Tianwen-1's orbital correction tracks
5. Various of engineers, researchers working in control room
6. Animation of China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 flying in space, heading for Mars

China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 is expected to "brake" near Mars around February 10 and begin its journey around the planet, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

China launched the Mars probe Tianwen-1, meaning quest for heavenly truth, from Hainan Province's Wenchang City on July 23, kicking off the country's independent planetary exploration mission.

The probe, which has flown in space for more than half a year and is currently around 170 million kilometers from earth, has a total flight distance of more than 450 million kilometers.

Tianwen-1 also carries China's first Mars rover. Solicitations to name the rover started on July 24, 2020. Around 1.4 million people from 38 countries and regions have submitted entries. After removing repetitive nominations, a total of 39,811 valid nominations were received.

The final top 10 list of candidate names have been selected for China's first Mars rover after an initial review of all submissions, said CNSA.