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China on Tuesday moved a massive rocket into position in preparation for launching a mission to bring materials back from the moon for the first time in four decades.
The Long March-5 was transported by tractor from its hangar to the nearby launch site at the Wenchang space base along the coast of the southern province of Hainan Island.
The launch of the Change 5 mission it will carry is expected early next week, placing a lander on the moon that will drill 2 meters (nearly 7 feet) below the surface and collect rocks and other debris to bring to earth.
This would allow scientists to study newly obtained lunar materials for the first time from the American and Russian missions of the 1960s and 1970s.
The mission, named after the Chinese moon goddess, is among China’s most ambitious as its space program continues to produce steam since it put a man into space for the first time in 2003, becoming only the third nation to do it after the United States and Russia.
China currently has a mission on the way to Mars, along with a rover on the far side of the moon that is providing the first comprehensive measurements of radiation exposure from the lunar surface – vital information for any country planning to send astronauts to the moon.
China is increasingly engaged with foreign countries on missions, although US law still prevents collaboration with NASA, barring China from partnering with the International Space Station.
This prompted China to work on its own space station and launch its own programs which put it in constant competition with Japan and India among Asian nations seeking to achieve new heights in space.
The space program has proceeded cautiously, with relatively few setbacks in recent years. The Long March-5, nicknamed “Fat 5” due to its bulky shape, failed in a previous launch attempt, but China’s huge pool of technical and engineering talent seems to have made it possible to overcome most obstacles. .
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