Rover Mission Planned For 2012

China intends to send a lunar orbiter skyward later this year, the first step towards launching a moon lander and, eventually, a lunar rover, according to news reports.

China's Xinhua news service quoted Sun Laiyan, director of China's National Space Administration, in his speech Sunday at Beijing Jiaotong University

"The moon probe project is the third milestone in China's space technology after satellite and manned spacecraft projects, and a first step for us in exploring deep space," Sun said, according to Reuters.

Aero-News reported on China's plans to send a satellite into lunar orbit last year. At the time, CNSA planned to launch the first satellite by April 2007; plans now call for the launch to occur sometime before the end of the year.

Future mission plans for the Chinese space program could be described as "pragmatic," with a moon rover mission reportedly planned for 2012, Xinhua reports. After launching a two-man Earth orbital mission in October 2005, CNSA plans to launch a spacewalk mission sometime in 2008.

Sun also said China will develop 12 Beidou ("North Dipper") satellites, with some to be used in the country's development of a global navigation system rivaling the United States' GPS system.

FMI: www.cnsa.gov.cn/n615709/cindex.html