Less than a year after sending its "Jade Rabbit" probe to the Moon, China has its eyes on the red planet and plans on sending an unmanned rover to investigate the surface of Mars by 2020.

A to-scale model of the Mars rover was on display at the Airshow China 2014 Tuesday in Zhuhai City, reports China state news agency Xinhua. It offered attendees a rare look at China's attempt to create a "Ruby Rabbit" to tackle the rugged Martian terrain.

Like Us on Facebook

"Our current concept is that it will have six wheels, like Yutu (Jade Rabbit), but will be larger in size and better at crossing obstacles," says Jia Yang, who heads the team developing the rover.

"Yutu can climb over obstacles no higher than 20-centimetres, but has to bypass larger rocks. This will not work on Mars, where places are full of large rocks like in the Gobi Desert. So we must improve its adaptability to complex territory," he said.

The rover on display is 2-meters long, but the final look and its functions have yet to be finalized.

Although China has not officially announced a plan to send a probe to Mars, a lead scientist in China's moon probe mission has told Xinhua that China plans to land a Mars rover around 2020, collect samples and bring them back around 2030.

The Mars buggy will be solar-powered, says Jia, and it will weigh about 180 kg (396 lbs.), which is close in weight to NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers. NASA's latest rover, Curiosity, is a relative behemoth weighing in at almost a ton, and is powered by a nuclear battery.

On display with the rover at the airshow is a model of a capsule designed to carry the vehicle into the planet's atmosphere. Jia says his team is still working on the capsule's parachute and heat-proof structure that will enable it to land in the extremely thin air, which is one of the trickiest parts of any Mars mission.

Although last year's was considered a success, it did report a mechanical malfunction during the second lunar day after landing in December 2013. Chinese want to eliminate this fault on the Mars rover.

"The Mars environment is more complicated and adverse than that of the moon," says Jia. "We're working to overcome the worst scenario - dust storms that will significantly lower the energy output of the solar battery."

TagsMove over Moon China Wants Mars, Mars Rover, Airshow China 2014, Jia Yang, Mars probe, Moon probe, Ruby Rabbit