The official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) – Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday that the China is gearing up to launch its first Mars probe in the second half of this year. Xinhua reported that the Shanghai Academy of Space Flight Technology has confirmed that China has completed testing and is on target for launch of its first Mars probe.

According to state-run news agency, the China's first Mars probe – Yinghuo-1 or Firefly Light-1 – has cleared an important test. The 115 kgs (253 lb) Yinghuo-1 will be launched by a Russian carrier rocket.

The deputy secretary of the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, Zhang Weiqiang told that the Yinghuo-1 will go into orbit around Mars in 2010 after a 10-month, 236-million mile (380-million-km) journey. It will function for an expected life of two years. It will not land on Mars, but will only orbit and monitor the planet.

Zhang told that Yinghuo-1 is the China's first Mars probe and the China's first project to explore another planet. The Chinese meaning of Yinghuo is "light from firefly". Yinghuo-1 will study environmental changes in the climate of Mars, including the disappearance of water from the planet.