China launches rocket to Mars starting race with US to land humans on the red planet

China has launched a Mars rocket which fired the starting pistol in the race with the US to land humans on the Red Planet. The Tianwen-1 was launched on a Long March-5 carrier rocket from a launch site on Hainan Island. It marked the second flight to Mars this week, after a United Arab Emirates orbiter blasted off on a rocket from Japan on Monday. America is also aiming to launch Perseverance, its most sophisticated Mars rover ever, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next week. China’s tandem spacecraft — wi