Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that China was planning to send an unmanned spacecraft to orbit the moon within three years. Chang'e-I, the lunar probe that is currently in development, weighs around two tons and is scheduled to orbit the moon for at least one year.
While deployed, the Chang'e-I orbiter will obtain three-dimensional images of the moon's surface and will also sample and analyze the moon's soil, rocks and environment. The samples are expected to be collected by a lunar probe that will be launched from the orbiter to the lunar surface that will later fly back to Earth.