⁍ Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out excitedly on a beach across the bay from the launch site.

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⁍ Launch commander Zhang Xueyu announced to cheers in the control room that the rocket was flying normally about 45 minutes later.

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⁍ China’s tandem spacecraft — with both an orbiter and a rover — will take seven months to reach Mars.

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– China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. China’s space agency said that the rocket carried the probe for 36 minutes before successfully placing it on the looping path that will take it beyond Earth’s orbit and eventually into Mars’ more distant orbit around the sun, the AP reports. Liu Tongjie, spokesman for the mission, said in a press briefing that the launch was a “key step of China marching towards farther deep space.” He said that China’s aim wasn’t to compete with other countries, but to peacefully explore the universe. The US is aiming to launch its most sophisticated Mars rover from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next week.