China Spotlights Next Moon Missions

China is working toward launch of its second lunar probe, now slated for an October 2010 liftoff.

According to China Daily, the Chang'e-2 mission also sets the stage for a follow-on lunar lander and Moon rover before 2013.

Speaking before an International Conference on Space Information Technology in Beijing, Ye Peijian, chief designer of China's first moon probe, said the second lunar probe will fly at a lower altitude above the Moon than the previous orbiter.

"We expect to acquire more scientific data about the Moon with increased accuracy," Ye told China Daily.

Chang'e-2-toted instruments are improved, with the spacecraft carrying a charge-coupled device camera on board with a much higher resolution than the camera on China's first lunar orbiter.

China's first lunar lander and rover, Chang'e-3, is to be launched atop a Long March 3B launch vehicle from the Xichang satellite launch center before 2013.

Ye added that the landing site on the moon for Chang'e-3 has already been selected: Sinus Iridium (Bay of Rainbows).

Chang'e-2 and Chang'e-3 are part of the second phase of China's lunar exploration program. A third phase is scripted that has China dispatching a robotic spacecraft to the Moon to collect samples and launch them back to Earth. That mission is slated before 2017.

By LD/CSE