China is making final preparations to launch its second lunar probe Chang'e-2 for launch from the Xichang spaceport, perhaps as early as Friday, October 1, 2010, according to Chinese media reports. The Chang'e-1 was launched in October, 2007.
Friday is China's national day, in celebration of Mao Zedong's proclamation of the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 followed by 61 years of communist party rule.
The Chang'e-2 lunar probe will conduct various tests in preparation for the expected launch in 2013 of the Chang'e-3, which aims to be China's first unmanned landing on the moon followed by a mission to bring a moon rock sample back to earth in 2017, with a manned mission foreseen between 2020-2025.
Several countries are planning robot probes to the moon in this decade.
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