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China launches moon mission
October 24, 2014, 10:06 am

The moon orbiter will test technologies ahead of a planned manned mission to the natural satellite in 2017 [Xinhua]

The moon orbiter will test technologies ahead of a planned manned mission to the natural satellite in 2017 [Xinhua]


Ahead of its manned space mission to the moon in 2017, China on Friday launched a spacecraft to orbit and plot a semi-circle of Earth’s natural satellite.

The Chang’e 5-T1 was successfully launched from the LC2 complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province in central China.

According to the Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, this mission will last eight days and test technologies such as guidance, navigation and control, heat shield and trajectory design.

Data collected from the test mission will help prepare for an exploratory manned moon landing in 2017.

The manned mission in 2017 is aimed at collecting samples from the moon’s surface.

The Chang’e 5-T1 marks the second phase of a three-part mission to the moon.

The Chang’e 3 landed on the moon in December 2013 and launched a rover to map and film the immediate vicinity of the landing site.

Source: Agencies