April 23, 2024 20:45 (IST)
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China to launch lunar orbiter this week
Beijing, Oct 22 (IBNS): China will launch its latest lunar orbiter later this week in its first attempt to send a spacecraft around the moon and back to Earth, media reported.
China's official Xinhua news agency reported that the unnamed spacecraft will launch between Friday and Sunday. According to media, it will be China's first lunar module capable of returning to Earth.
The launch will be intended to test technology to be used in the Chang'e-5, China's fourth lunar probe, which aims to gather samples from the moon's surface and will be launched around 2017, a China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) official is quoted as saying.
China currently has one moon rover, the Jade Rabbit, on the surface of the moon. It has been learnt that the new orbiter will fly around the moon for about one week and then the spacecraft will return to earth.
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