An exhibition on the US-launched mission to Mars was launched in Hong Kong Saturday by the National Geographic Channel as a prelude to a global television event of the Mission Mars Exhibition.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of America launched two exploration rovers to Mars about half a year earlier. The rovers are expected to land on Jan. 4 and 25 respectively.

The National Geographic Channel is broadcasting a behind-the- scene documentary which describes the preparatory work done on the sophisticated exploration rovers for the Mars launch by a team of some 600 scientists and engineers. The Mission Mars Exhibition is a prelude of the documentary.

The exhibition showcases a model of NASA's Mars exploration rover, with detail graphic description of the functions of different parts.

At the exhibition, photographs and information about explorations of Mars done by scientists previously and the planet itself are also shown.

Visitors can also get assess to NASA's website to learn more about its Mars mission at the exhibition venue.

Officiating at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Pauline Goh, vice president of Marketing Department of National Geographic Channel Asia, said that, the exhibition enables the public to learn more about Mars in an interactive way. The documentary about NASA's Mars mission is hoped to raise people's interests of exploring the universe, she added.

At the opening ceremony, the National Geographic Channel also announced the result of its recent Mars survey conducted in Hong Kong among people under 49 years of age. The findings show that more than 69 percent of the interviewees believe there is life form on Mars. Over 50 percent of them believe protozoa life form or any primitive form exist on Mars.

Apart from Hong Kong, the exhibition is also being held in cities such as Beijing, Taipei, Bangkok and Singapore.

(Xinhua News Agency January 4, 2004)