Chinese spacecraft successfully lands on surface of Mars FILE PHOTO: The Long March 5 Y-4 rocket, carrying an unmanned Mars probe of the Tianwen-1 mission, takes off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan Province, China July 23, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo reuters_tickers This content was published on May 15, 2021 - 02:36 May 15, 2021 - 02:36 BEIJING (Reuters) -An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua reported, making China the second space-faring nation after the United States to land on the Red Planet. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft landed on a site on the Southern Utopia Plain, "leaving a Chinese footprint on Mars for the first time," Xinhua said.