by Robert J. Saiget
BEIJING (AFP) – Asia’s space race heated up on Wednesday as China launched its first lunar orbiter, an event hailed by the world’s most populous nation as a milestone event in its global rise.
China’s year-long expedition, costing 1.4 billion yuan (184 million dollars), kicks off a programme that aims to land an unmanned rover on the moon’s surface by 2012 and put a man on the moon by about 2020.
The launch of Chang’e I, which will explore and map the moon’s surface, came after Japan last month launched ….
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071024/
wl_asia_afp/chinaspacemoon_071024132438
High Tech meets peasant farmers in China. Background:
China’s Lunar mission is ready for launch. Foreground:
Peasant farmers evacuate prior to launch today, October
24, 2007. Note the lady with the big hat is carrying her
rice cooker. Photo from the Communist Party news service
Xinhua.
