Beijing, Sep.22 (ANI): China said Wednesday that China will launch the Chang'e-3 lunar probe mission around 2013, marking the first time for a Chinese spacecraft to land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.
According to Xinhua, the mission will also mark the first step of the second stage of China's ambitious three-phase lunar exploration program, although a timetable for a manned moon landing has yet to be announced.
The probe's mission is to land safely on the moon and carry out a number of scientific experiments, according to sources with State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence.
China began its quest for the moon in October 2007, when it launched its first lunar probe, the Chang'e-1.
The probe went into orbit around the moon, transmitting pictures of the moon's surface back to Earth before crashing to the surface at the end of its mission under the direction of Chinese scientists.
China's second moon orbiter, the Chang'e-2, sent back its first batch of data while orbiting the second Lagrange Point (L2) about 1.7 million km away from Earth.
The orbiter is still in space and is scheduled to travel around the L2 orbit until the end of 2012, according to the administration.
During the third phase of the country's lunar probe program, another rover will land on the moon and return to Earth with lunar soil and stone samples for scientific research around 2017. (ANI)
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