The Chinese mission to Mars is on pace to launch in 2028, and it may beat the U.S. back to Earth with soil samples, even though the U.S. is already there.
Getting to Mars is easy. NASA sent its Viking landers there all the way back in 1976. The hard part, and the reason no humans have ever gone, is coming back to Earth again. To do that, a rare and pre⦠[+1024 chars]