BEIJING—China is trying to reach a milestone in space exploration: landing a vehicle on the far side of the moon for the first time in history. The spacecraft, whose landing could come Thursday, is called Chang’e-4 after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology. Chang’e-4 would be the first spacecraft to touch down on the side of the moon that perpetually faces away from the Earth. “This space mission shows that China has reached the advanced world-class level in deep space exploration,” said Zhu Menghua, a professor at the Macau University of Science and Technology. If exploiting the moon’s resources is the next step in space development, a successful mission could leave the Chinese better positioned.

Source: thestar January 03, 2019 01:57 UTC