China Launches First Privately Funded Moon Mission Today The first privately funded mission to the moon is scheduled to blast off Thursday, Oct. 23, hitching a ride on a Chinese Long March rocket. The 4M mission, a project developed by Luxembourg-based company LuxSpace, will piggyback on a Chinese moon flyby unofficially dubbed Change 5-T1, which aims to test out technology for a future lunar sample-return mission. Liftoff is set for 1:59 p.m. EDT from Chinas Xichang Satellite Launch Center. If all goes according to plan, the Change 5-T1 spacecraft will zoom around the moon and back toward Earth, ultimately sending a test capsule barreling into our planets atmosphere on Oct. 31. The main purpose is to try out tech that could get moon dirt and rocks to Earth — the goal of Chinas Change 5 mission, currently slated to blast off in 2017. Read more... More about China, Moon, Us World, World, and Space Mashable Space October 23, 2014 at 03:53PM
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 15:32:58 +0000
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