China to launch first lunar probe next April

Thu Apr 27, 2006 9:39am ET

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China plans to take the first step in its ambitious lunar
exploration program next April, launching a satellite that will orbit the moon, a space
official said on Thursday.

The craft will be followed a few years later by a remote-controlled lunar rover that will
perform experiments and send data back to earth, and, in another few years, a module
that will drill out a chunk of the moon and return with it.

China's lunar exploration scheme, which includes long-term plans for piloted moon
missions, underscores the ambitious scope of a space program that has come a long way,
especially in recent years, since its launch 50 years ago.

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