24 April 2022
On the occasion of the China Space Day 2022, Wu Yanhua, CNSA's Deputy Director, said on 24 April, that the engineering development of the 4th phase of its lunar exploration programme will start this year. CE-6, CE-7 and CE-8 will be launched successively before 2030 and breakthroughs in key technologies will be achieved for building an international lunar research station. CE-6 will collect samples from the far side of the Moon. Also, CNSA is planning to install a satellite constellation around the Moon to provide communication and navigation services. The main goal of the 4th phase is to carry out scientific exploration on the Moon's south pole and set-up a fundamental type of lunar scientific research station. "We are expecting that more missions will follow after 2030, so construction on the ILRS will be completed by 2035 for long-term operation," Wu Weiren, CLEP Chief Designer said. "If the lunar research station project can be successfully implemented, China will not be far away from achieving a manned landing on the Moon," said Wu. Chinese scientists and engineers are already studying how to do this.
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