China plans 1st probe in moon in the H2 of next year

China aims to land its first probe on the moon in the second half of next year, state media reported on Monday, the next step in an ambitious space progamme which includes building a space station. In 2007, China launched its first moon orbiter, the Chang'e One orbiter, which took images of the surface and analyzed the distribution of elements. That launch marked the first step in China's three-stage moon mission, to be followed by an unmanned moon mission and then the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017. The official China News Service said that the Chang'e Three would carry out surveys on the surface of the moon when it is launched in 2013. It provided no further details, according to a report of Reuters.