{"id":18181,"date":"2019-01-14T21:30:02","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T13:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/in-the-2020s-china-aims-to-lay-groundwork-for-a-moon-base-plus-missions-to-mars\/"},"modified":"2019-01-14T21:30:02","modified_gmt":"2019-01-14T13:30:02","slug":"in-the-2020s-china-aims-to-lay-groundwork-for-a-moon-base-plus-missions-to-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/in-the-2020s-china-aims-to-lay-groundwork-for-a-moon-base-plus-missions-to-mars\/","title":{"rendered":"In the 2020s, China aims to lay groundwork for a moon base \u2014 plus missions to Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Yutu
Video captured by China\u2019s Chang\u2019e-4 lander shows the Yutu 2 rover roaming the surface of the moon\u2019s far side. (CNSA via Weibo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flush from the success of the world\u2019s first rover mission to the moon\u2019s far side, Chinese space officials said today that they\u2019re planning robotic trips to the lunar south pole to prepare the way for a crewed moon base.<\/p>\n

The officials discussed future lunar exploration plans less than two weeks after the Chang\u2019e-4 lander\u2019s history-making touchdown, and only a few days after China\u2019s space agency released video of the lander\u2019s descent and lunar surface activities.<\/p>\n

Chang\u2019e-4 and its solar-powered Yutu 2 rover are hibernating during the 2-week-long lunar night, but their handlers are already thinking about sending probes to places where the sun almost always shines.<\/p>\n

Permanently lit regions around the south pole are considered prime locations for a lunar base, particularly because permanently shadowed craters nearby are judged likely to hold the reserves of frozen water needed for crewed operations.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonrdavis\/status\/1083779246802186240<\/p>\n

The next mission in China\u2019s lunar exploration program, known as Chang\u2019e-5, will head for the moon by the end of the year and bring samples back to Earth, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wu Yanhua, deputy head of the China National Space Administration, as saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cExperts are still discussing and verifying the feasibility of subsequent projects, but it\u2019s confirmed that there will be another three missions after Chang\u2019e-5,\u201d Wu said at a news briefing organized by the State Council Information Office.<\/p>\n

All those missions carry the designation \u201cChang\u2019e,\u201d which evokes the name of Chinese mythology\u2019s moon goddess.<\/p>\n

Chang\u2019e-6\u2019s goal is to bring samples back from the lunar south pole. Chang\u2019e-7 will conduct surveys of the south polar region, including an assessment of terrain, physical composition and the space environment.<\/p>\n

Follow-up surveys will be conducted by Chang\u2019e-8, which will also test key technologies for building a research station on the moon, Xinhua reported.<\/p>\n