China to launch second lunar probe in 2010: report
Xinhua
China will launch its second lunar probe, Chang’e-2, in October 2010, a top Chinese space scientist told China Daily on Thursday.
The newspaper quoted Ye Peijian, chief designer of the nation’s first moon probe, as saying that the second lunar orbiter will carry different payloads and orbit the moon in a different way.
“It will orbit 100 km closer to the moon and be equipped with better facilities. We expect to acquire more scientific data about the moon with increased accuracy,” he was quoted as saying.
Though Chang’e-2 was at one time the backup to Chang’e-1, it has gone through technical upgrades for its new mission. Payloads on board have been improved, and the vehicle now boasts a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera on board, which has a much higher resolution than the camera on China’s first lunar probe.
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