Lunar mission ready for launch

“嫦娥五号”本月下旬发射

Chang'e 5, the next mission in China's lunar exploration program, will be launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province before the end of this month, according to the China National Space Administration.

来自国家航天局消息，我国探月工程的下一个任务“嫦娥五号”计划于11月下旬在海南文昌航天发射场择机发射。

Chang'e 5 - the sixth mission in the Chang'e program, as there was an unnumbered experimental mission - will be one of the most difficult and challenging space endeavors China has embarked on and will become the world's first space operation in more than four decades to bring lunar samples back to Earth. Its findings will facilitate scientists' research on the moon's origin and evolution, the administration said in a statement on Tuesday morning, when the Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket, which will be used to lift the robotic probe, was moved to its launch pad at the Wenchang center.

11月17日上午，将执行“嫦娥五号”发射任务的“长征五号”重型运载火箭在文昌航天发射场垂直转运至发射区。国家航天局随后发布声明称，“嫦娥五号”任务是我国探月工程的第六次任务（有一次实验性任务未编号），将是中国航天领域迄今难度和挑战最大的任务之一，也将是40多年来世界首次月面采样返回任务，将助力深化月球成因和演化历史等科学研究。