A few days ago, China landed its Chang'e-4 probe on the far side of the moon to unveil the mysteries surrounding this half which always remain invisible from the earth. The landing of Chang'e-4 probe on the far side of the moon is widely considered a giant leap and many believe that the Asian country is all set to beat the US in the space race.
Now, Wu Weiren, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief designer of China's lunar exploration program has revealed that China is going to deepen their lunar exploration in the coming years. The Chinese space expert revealed that the country's lunar program comprises of three phases; orbiting, landing and returning.
The country has completed the two initial phases; orbiting and landing. The next phase 'landing' will be carried out by the Chang'e-5 probe and it plans to collect 2 kilograms of moon soil and bringing it back to the earth.
Wu also revealed that China has plans to build a research station at the South Polar region of the moon.
"Wu Weiren, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief designer of China's lunar exploration program. We hope to build a scientific research station in the south polar region of the moon. It would be operated automatically and visited by people for short periods," said Wu, Chinese news agency Xinhua reports.
Even though several lunar missions have been conducted by countries like the US, earth's natural satellite is still shrouded with mysteries, especially the dark side of the moon. As China emerges as a major player in lunar exploration, human knowledge about the moon is expected to get broadened in the coming years.
"Exploring the unknown is human nature. The moon is a mysterious world to us. We have a responsibility to explore and to understand it. Exploration of the moon will also deepen our understanding of earth and ourselves," added Wu.
In the meantime, a section of conspiracy theorists believes that the Chinese Chang'e-4 probe will encounter aliens in the dark side of the moon, which will finally result in the extraterrestrial disclosure. However, until now, no signs of extraterrestrial activity was spotted by the Chang'e-4.
