Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Chinese lunar craft project under way

8/4/2004
BEIJING - China has started developing its first unmanned lunar exploration craft in order to meet its timetable of reaching the moon.

Work on the craft, named Chang'e 1, is going smoothly, making members of the moon programme confident that the launch will go ahead as planned before 2007, the official Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

Construction of the ground reception system to which Chang'e 1 will send its data is nearly completed, said Mr Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist on the 1.4-billion-yuan (S$290-million) programme.

State media reported earlier that the Chang'e 1 is expected to orbit the moon for at least 12 months. Landing an unmanned spacecraft on the moon will take longer and is not expected until 2010.

The news followed last week's announcement that China will launch its second manned space mission next year as well as begin recruitment of the country's first women astronauts.

The Shenzhou spacecraft, slated for blast-off in the second half of next year, will carry two astronauts on a five-day mission, state media reported, quoting Mr Huang Chunping, who heads China's manned space programme rocket carrier system.

The mission was initially scheduled for this year, but was pushed back to ensure a more successful launch. -- AFP

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