If successful, this will be the first probe ever to land on the dark side of the moon [Image: NASA]China has officially begun a new round of lunar exploration and will send the Chang’e-4 probe to the far side of the moon in 2018, China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) announced Thursday.
If successful, this will be the first probe ever to land on the dark side of the moon.
The far side of the moon is never visible to Earth because of gravitational forces although earlier spacecrafts have seen the far side. None has landed on it so far.
“Chang’e-4 will be the first mission in human history to embark on this expedition,” said Liu Jizhong, chief of the lunar exploration center under SASTIND.
“China already boasts mature science and technology for sending a probe to the far side of the moon, and is open to cooperation with international society,” said Liu.
China achieved its first soft-landing on the moon with Chang’e-3 in December 2013.
Liu said Chang’e-4 is very similar to Chang’e-3 in structure but can handle more payload. It will be used to study the geological conditions of the dark side of the moon.
China has also sent a letter of intent of cooperation on its latest mission to foreign countries in early 2015.
China also plans to launch its Chang’e-5 lunar probe to finish the last chapter in China’s three-step (orbiting, landing and return) moon exploration program. The Chang’e-5 lunar probe is now being developed by Chinese scientists, Liu said.
In March, the Chinese government said it would open up its lunar exploration program to companies.
Source: Agencies
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