[extropy-chat] Chinese moon probe to blast off in 3 years

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

>From SciScoop: Some new players are getting ready to break Earth orbit and
head out into deep space. China has released its plans for lunar exploration
over the coming decade, which include a two-ton lunar orbiter named
"Chang'e-I,'' an apparent reference to an ancient legend about the fairy
Chang'e who flies to the moon. The craft is currently under construction and
will lift off within three years for a 9 day voyage to the Moon followed by
a functional year in lunar orbit. Chang'e is to be followed by an unmanned
Chinese lunar sample return mission in 2010. In the second decade of the
21st Century, China plans to land one of its citizens on the Moon.
Meanwhile, White House spokespersons have debunked as inaccurate rumors
several reports that in coming weeks President Bush would issue a call for
an American return to the Moon or manned missions to Mars.
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