The fourth Long March-5 rocket, to be used to launch China's first Mars exploration mission, was vertically transported to the launching area at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan province on July 17.

The carrier rocket, coded as Long March-5 Y4, is planned to be launched in late July or early August, according to the China National Space Administration. It took about two hours to vertically transport the large rocket to the launching area of the center on July 17. Final examinations and tests will be conducted on the rocket before the launch.

China's first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 aims to complete orbiting, landing, and roving in one mission, and to obtain scientific exploration data on Mars.