Moon rocks won, China preps for more missions
AP, BEIJING
Following the successful return of moon rocks by its Chang’e 5 robotic probe, China is preparing for missions that could set the stage for an eventual lunar base to host human explorers, a top space program official said yesterday.
China’s next three lunar missions are on track, along with programs for returning samples from Mars, and exploring asteroids and Jupiter, China Lunar Exploration Program deputy chief commander Wu Yanhua (吳艷華) said.
“Exploring the truth of the universe is just the beginning,” Wu told a news conference held hours after a capsule parachuted to a landing in Inner Mongolia carrying the first lunar samples to be brought to Earth in more than 40 years.
2020-12-17 03:50:22 GMT2020-12-17 11:50:22(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
BEIJING, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) In ancient Chinese mythology, the fairy lady Chang e flew to the Moon alone, became a goddess up there, and never returned home.
On Thursday, China s lunar probe Chang e-5 successfully touched down in north China s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after more than 20 days of exploration of the earth s only natural satellite some 400,000 km away, and brought home the first batch of lunar surface samples in 44 years since the Soviet Luna 24 probe in 1976.
As China has eventually completed its 16-year-long Lunar Exploration Program, part of the country s Chang e Project, it has accomplished a raft of technological breakthroughs during the landmark space voyage.