First unmanned lunar mission set for 2007
By Zhao Huanxin (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-16 06:03

Another soft-lander will be launched around 2017, with the mission of bringing back lunar samples.

Luan did not reveal when China will be sending a man on the moon, but said the 2017 mission would provide data for manned lunar missions and for choosing a site for a lunar base.

To accomplish the missions, scientists will have to solve a chain of problems regarding satellites, rockets and tracking systems, he said.

Sun Laiyan, director of the China National Space Administration, yesterday said the lunar missions constituted a new landmark in the country's space programme after the launching of satellites and manned spacecraft.

"The lunar probe indicates China has taken an important step towards exploration of deeper space," Sun said.

The moon will provide a platform from which to explore further into space, he said earlier.

China launched its lunar exploration programme belatedly. The former Soviet Union launched Luna 10, the world's first spacecraft to go into lunar orbit on April 4, 1966, a few months before the US launched Lunar Orbiter 1.

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