China's long-expected lunar probe program broke the ground
Thursday, with its scientific targets, project targets and the
development schedule laid out, said China's Commission of Science
Technology and Industry for National Defense.
The project leading team held the first meeting to announce the
launch of the project, and outlined the project's schedule.
The satellite program, part of the country's ambitious
three-stage lunar project, would be followed by the landing of an
unmanned vehicle on the Moon in the second stage by 2010, and
collecting samples of lunar soil with an unmanned vehicle by
2020.
Sun Laiyan, deputy director of the China National Space
Administration, said the satellite would obtain three-dimensional
images of the lunar surface, analyze the content of useful elements
and materials, and prove the depth of the lunar soil and the space
environment between the Earth and the Moon.
Sun described the satellite project as an important step toward
China's exploration of deeper space, and the Moon would provide a
good platform from which to explore.
The program is also named the Chang'e Program, referring to a
goddess who flew to the Moon in an ancient Chinese fairytale.
(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2004)