] China has revealed further details of its plans to ] explore the Moon - the first unmanned probe could be ] launched by 2005, say officials. They also hinted that ] the motivation for the missions is to mine the Moon's ] resources. ] ] The lunar program, named Chang'e after a legend about a ] fairy that visits the moon, would be in three phases. ] First an orbiter would be sent to the Moon, followed by a ] lander, and then finally a sample return craft. ] ] "We will be able to embark on a maiden unmanned mission ] within two and a half years if the government endorses ] the scheme now,'' Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of ] China's lunar exploration programme, told The People's ] Daily. |