China to launch Chang'e 3 to the moon in December
嫦娥三号将于十二月份登月

As China marks the 10-year anniversary of its first manned spaceflight, the nation is gearing up to launch its most complex robotic mission to the moon. During a recent speech, one of the project’s researchers said the liftoff of Chang’e 3, named after a Chinese lunar goddess, is to take place in December.

The project is part of the second phase of China’s three-step robotic lunar exploration program of orbiting and landing probes, followed by a mission to collect select samples from the moon. Researchers say that a number of breakthroughs were sought to achieve a soft landing on the moon and carry out rover operations.

China has also initiated a public campaign to name the moon rover, which will be revealed next Month after several judging rounds. Chang’e 3 is built upon the success of China’s lunar orbiters Chang’e 1 and Chang’e 2, which returned a catalog of lunar surface imagery and other data after launching in 2007 and 2010, respectively.