Official: China's moon probe will carry French, Russian gear
ABC News
China says it will launch its next robot lunar lander in 2024, and it will carry equipment from France, Sweden, Russia and Italy
BEIJING -- China will launch its next robot lunar lander in 2024, and it will carry equipment from France, Sweden, Russia and Italy, the official news agency reported. Plans call for Chang’e 6 to land near the lunar south pole and collect samples for return to Earth, the program’s chief designer, Hu Hao, said at a conference Saturday, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The Chang’e landers are part of Chinese space exploration efforts that also include a probe that is preparing to land a robot rover on Mars. There are also plans for a crewed orbital station, landing a human on the moon and retrieving soil from an asteroid. In December, the previous moon probe, Chang’e 5, returned lunar rocks to Earth for the first time since the 1970s.More Related News