Rocket launch marks big step in building China’s lunar infrastructure

Enlarge / A Long March 8 rocket, standing 165 feet (50 meters) tall, rolled out of its assembly building to its launch pad Sunday at the Wenchang Space Launch Site.Luo Yunfei/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

The next phase of China’s Moon program begins with the launch of a new data relay satellite Monday to link lunar landers and rovers on the far side of the Moon with ground controllers back on Earth.

This launch, set for approximately 8:31 pm EDT (00:31 UTC), will send China’s Queqiao-2 relay spacecraft toward the Moon, where it will enter an elliptical orbit and position

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