China's Lunar Exploration Programme Centre announced plans to launch a moon-orbiting satellite next April as the first step in an ambitious exploration project. The craft will be followed a few years later by a remote-controlled lunar rover that will perform experiments and send data back to earth, and, in another few years, a module that will drill out a chunk of the moon and return with it. The lunar exploration scheme includes long-term plans for piloted moon missions. On Thursday, China sent a science research satellite into orbit, marking the country's first space mission this year.
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