China Launches Unmanned Space Mission to Moon and Back

China has launched an unmanned spacecraft that for the first time in the country's space program will fly around the moon and return to Earth. The unnamed probe took off early Friday from the Xichang satellite launch center in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The eight-day program is meant to test technology that will be used in a planned 2017 mission that aims to gather samples from the moon's surface. The official Xinhua news agency said the latest mission will...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - vendredi 24 octobre 2014