Preparation for Chang'e-5 2017 launch as scheduled

01 March 2014
Preparation for the 2017 launch of China's lunar probe Chang'e-5 is going smoothly as planned, a leading scientist of the programme Ye Peijian told Xinhua on Saturday. Chang'e-5, as an important part of China's third-phase lunar program, is expected to bring back a Moon rock sample to Earth, a move hailed by Ye as "a historic moment" for China.
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China has no lunar base project: leading scientist

01 March 2014
The world's third country to soft-land on the moon has no plan to build a lunar base there, a leading scientist of China's lunar probe mission told Xinhua Saturday. But Ye Peijian, chief scientist of the Chang'e-3 program, also said that since man can land on the moon and stay there briefly, there will be the day when they can stay there for long time. "From the rule of science and moon probe technology development, a place for long-term residence (on the moon) will be built eventually," added the scientist, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body.
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China capable of exploring Mars: leading space scientist

01 March 2014
China has the capability of exploring the planet Mars, Ye Peijian, a top scientist with the Chang'e-3 program, the country's lunar probe mission, told Xinhua on Saturday. China is capable of sending a probe to circle Mars and having it land on the planet, Ye said, adding that the country has no problems with tracking control and communications technology.
China's space missions have seen systematic development. The Chang'e-3 lunar probe, a part of the second phase of the country's lunar program, soft-landed on the Moon on Dec. 14, with the nation's first moon rover Yutu (Jade Rabbit) aboard.
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China Exclusive: Control circuit malfunction troubles China's Yutu

01 March 2014
China's Yutu (Jade Rabbit) Moon rover suffered a control circuit malfunction in its driving unit, which troubled its dormancy in extremely low temperature, a scientist said on Saturday. The control circuit problem prevented Yutu from entering the second dormancy as planned, Ye Peijian, chief scientist of the Chang'e-3 program, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. "Normal dormancy needs Yutu to fold its mast and solar panels," said Ye. "The driving unit malfunction prevented Yutu to do those actions."
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