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Chang’e-4

Chang’e-4 will follow the Chang’e-3, a probe launched in 2013, which carried the Jade Rabbit rover to the lunar surface. Though immobile by 2015, Jade Rabbit still transmited data back to Earth, and Chang’e-4 would take on a different scientific role.

The Chang’e-4 mission, part of China’s Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP), plans to land the probe and accompanying rover on the far side of the moon. "We are currently discussing the next moon landing site for Chang’e 4," Chief lunar exploration engineer Wu Weiren told China Central Television in May 2015. "We probably will choose a site that is more difficult to land and more technically challenging. Other countries have chosen to land on the near side of the moon. Our next move probably will see some spacecraft land on the far side of the moon."

Chang’e-4 was initially set to launch in 2020, but before that, Chang’e-5 will makes its way to the moon in 2017. That mission will return with lunar samples. The chronology discrepancy can be attributed to the fact that Chang’e-4 is technically the backup to Chang’e-3, and will keep that number identifier despite launching after Chang’e-5.

Chang'e-4 lunar probe, carried by Long March-3B carrier rocket, was launched at 2:23 am 08 Decembe 2018 from the Xichang satellite launch center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, the Xichang government. The Chang'e-4 lunar lander and rover were expected to touch down in the Aitken Basin of the lunar south pole on the far side of the Moon.

Chinese space experts said Chang'e-4's landing will help humanity learn the origin and evolution of the Moon and improve the world's observation of the universe. "Compared to the near side, the far side of the Moon is filled with deep basins and high mountains and has never been touched by humans or machines," Jiao Weixin, a space science professor at Peking University, told the Global Times.

Scientists will collect data from both the near and far sides of the Moon, which will greatly improve humanity's understanding of the Moon. To date more than 100 satellites have been sent to explore the Moon, but none of them have landed on the far side, Jiao said. As the far side of the Moon is shielded from electromagnetic interference from the Earth, it's an ideal place to conduct low frequency radio astronomy observations, allowing for the study of a wide range of objects in space, a Beijing-based aerospace expert who requested anonymity, told the Global Times. Jiao said a clean electromagnetic environment can help scientists study solar activities which could lead to improved service life of satellites.