China’s Xinhua News Agency is reporting that the country’s first lunar probe, Chang’e I is on track to launch in the second half of this year. “The moon probe project is the third milestone in China’s space technology after satellite and manned spacecraft projects, and a first step for us in exploring deep space,” said Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration. An earlier report predicted a launch date in September.
Sun, who is also vice director of the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense, made the remarks when briefing students at Beijing Jiaotong University on China’s space program on Sunday. China’s moon exploration program, he said, is divided into three phases: “circling the moon,” “landing on the moon,” and “back to earth.”
Phase 2, the launch of the moon rover, is currently predicted for 2012. The third phase will be the launch of another rover, which will land on the moon and return to earth with lunar soil and stone samples, Sun said.
Adding a nationalistic bent to the scientific plans, Sun noted that “Space technology reflects a nation’s overall power and is an important facet of the modernization of national defense.”