China to launch moon probing satellite in 3-5 years
( 2003-11-02 08:54) (Xinhua)
China is to launch its first moon probing
satellite in the next three to five years, said Zhang Qingwei, deputy head of
the visiting delegation of China's first manned space mission, in an interview
with Xinhua on Saturday.
Zhang, also general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp,
said the comprehensive feasibility studies for the first-phase of the moon
probing program has been completed and the engineering operation plan has been
drafted.
He said that after the successful development of satellites and launching of
manned spacecraft, China is to prepare for moon probing and other outer space
probing activities.
Zhang believed that the moon probing will become the third milestone of
China's space technology development.
He said China is to use Long March III A carrier rocket for launching the
moon probing satellite.
China's moon probing program will be divided into three phase.The first phase
work will focus on obtaining three-dimensional graphs of the moon surface,
making analysis on the elements of moon surface and probing space environment of
the moon, he said.
The second phase of the program will send moon probing devices to the surface
of the moon and the final phase is targeting on survey of the moon surface and
taking back samples.
In a related development, China has been engaged in development of
intelligence robot for moon probing for years.
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