China launched its most ambitious Mars mission ever on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft 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. And the U.S. is aiming to launch Perseverance, its most sophisticated Mars rover ever, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next week.