Photo: Coutersy of CAST

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent warm congratulations and sincere greetings to the personnel involved in the Saturday feat.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said in his congratulatory letter that this success marks a major step forward in the country's interplanetary exploration, achieving a leap from Earth-moon system to the interplanetary one. Leaving the footprint of Chinese people on Mars for the first time marks another milestone of the country's space industry development.

Xi also noted that the country will always remember the contributions and achievements of the participants of the mission, stressing that it is their courage to challenge and pursue excellence that has brought the country to a leading position in the world in terms of interplanetary exploration.