China to Send Chang’e -4 Probe on Dark Side of Moon in 2018

China is set to send the Chang'e-4 probe to the far side of the moon in 2018 as a new round of lunar exploration has begun, the country’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) announced Thursday, Jan. 14.

Liu Jizhong, chief of the lunar exploration center under SASTIND, said that Chang'e-4 will be the first mission in human history to embark on this expedition.

A report by the Xinhua News Agency said that the far side of the moon, which is never visible to Earth because of gravitational forces, has never been explored by humans.

Liu said that China welcomes cooperation with international society as it takes pride of its mature science and technology as proven by sending a probe to the far side of the moon.

The report said that the country first made its soft-landing on the moon with Chang'e-3 in Dec. 2013, and it is still sending messages back to Earth.

Liu said that Chang'e-4 can handle more payload, although it is similar to Chang'e-3 in structure. The probe will be used to study the geological conditions of the dark side of the moon.

In early 2015, China sent a letter of intent of cooperation to other countries, the report said.

Liu added that China also plans to launch its Chang'e-5 lunar probe to finish the last chapter in China's three-step (orbiting, landing and return) moon exploration program. The chief said the Chang'e-5 lunar probe is now being developed by Chinese scientists.

Earlier this January, China announced plans to launch more than 20 space missions this year. Among these include the launching of Tiangong 2 space laboratory, manned spacecraft Shenzhou 11, and other commercial and scientific orbital missions.

This year, the country is also set to launch the March 3B rocket that will take the Belinterstat 1 communications satellite for Belarus. The spacecraft was China's first communications satellite exported to Europe.