China launches powerful rocket in boost for 2020 Mars mission

China on Friday launched one of the world's most powerful rockets in a major step forward for its planned mission to Mars in 2020.

The heavy lift Long March 5 rocket carrying a test satellite payload blasted off from the Wenchang launch site on the southern island of Hainan at 8:45 pm (1245 GMT), a livestream from state broadcaster CCTV showed.

"After more than 2,000 seconds, the Shijian 20 satellite was sent into its predetermined orbit," the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The rocket launch "tests key technologies related to future space missions," Xinhua said.

The successful launch is a key part of China's ambitious plans for a mission to the Red Planet next year and hopes of having a crewed space station by 2022.

"The Long March 5 rocket is tasked with important missions," Wu Yanhua, the deputy head of China's National Space Administration, said in a video released by CCTV last week.

"It will be tasked with a series of key missions including launching China's first Mars probe, the Chang'e-5 lunar probe and a core module for the manned space station."