Spacecraft tests to pave the way for vital lunar mission
By Xin Dingding | China Daily | Updated: 2013-03-14 07:01
An experimental spacecraft will be launched before 2015 to conduct crucial re-entry tests on the capsule to be used in the Chang'e-5 lunar-sample mission, a leading space program official said.
Chang'e-5 is expected to be China's first lunar explorer to return to Earth. The mission will be carried out before 2020.
The experimental spacecraft will consist of the Chang'e-2 lunar orbiter base structure as well as the return capsule that will be used by the Chang'e-5, said Hu Hao, chief designer of the lunar exploration program's third phase and a deputy to the National People's Congress.
Photo