The Chang’e 1 lunar orbiter was China’s first deep space mission. The program was divided into three phases: circling the Moon, landing on the Moon and returning from the Moon. The program goals were to be accomplished between 2007 and 2020.
The goal of this first mission, besides proving basic technologies and testing out several engineering systems, was to create a 3D map of the lunar surface, to analyze the distribution of certain chemicals on the lunar surface, to survey the thickness of the lunar soil, to estimate helium 3 resources, and to explore the space environment (solar wind, etc.) in near-lunar space.
The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is designed to be conducted in four phases of incremental technological advancement: The first is simply reaching lunar orbit, a task completed by Chang’e 1 in 2007 and Chang’e 2 in 2010. The second is landing and roving on the Moon, as Chang’e 3 did in 2013 and Chang’e 4 did in 2019. The third is collecting lunar samples from the near-side and sending them to Earth, a task for the future Chang’e 5 and Chang’e 6 missions. The fourth phase consists of development of a robotic research station near the Moon’s south pole. The program aims to facilitate a crewed lunar landing in the 2030s and possibly build an outpost near the south pole.
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