
Following are the program structure of lunar exploration program of Peoples Republic of China. According to the plan, the program will go through four phases:
Orbital mission (Chang'e 1 & 2)The first phase of the exploration program starts with the launch of two lunar orbiters.
* Chang'e 1 was the first to be successfully launched as scheduled on October 24, 2007.
* Chang'e 2 is scheduled to be launched in 2009-10.
Soft lander (Chang'e 3)In the second phase of the lunar exploration program, two lunar landers will be launched to deploy moon rovers for surface exploration in a limited area. These missions were originally planned for 2012 requiring the use of the CZ-5/E heavy launch vehicle.
Currently, the second and third phases of the program will both require the availability of the heavy-lift Long March 5 (CZ-5) booster. Huang Chunping, the former head of rocket science at China's manned space program, told Xinhua news agency in March 2007 that the Long March 5 (CZ-5) rocket would be ready for launch 'in seven or eight years', which implied that CZ-5 would not be used in the second phase of the Chang'e program. It has been reported that the second phase might use a CZ-3B rocket instead.
The Hainan Spaceport, fourth and southernmost space center, will be upgraded to suit the new CZ-5 Heavy ELV.
It is said that the second phase of the program would include the launch of at least two landers, that will carry small remote-controlled Moon rovers to conduct an inspection of the moon's surface and probe the moon's resources. It would also provide data to determine the selection of a moon base.
On December 14, 2005, many aspects of the above information were confirmed, when it was reported "an effort to launch lunar orbiting satellites will be supplanted in 2007 by a program aimed at accomplishing an unmanned lunar landing. A program to return unmanned space vehicles from the moon will begin in 2012 and last for five years, until the manned program gets underway" in 2017.
A six-wheeled lunar vehicle due to be launched in 2013 has been under development since 2002 at the Shanghai Aerospace System Engineering Institute where a specialized testing laboratory has been outfitted to replicate the lunar surface. The 1.5-meter high, 200-kilogram rover is designed to transmit video in real time, dig and analyze soil samples. In photographs, the rover appeared similar to NASA's unmanned Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers. Unlike the rechargeable lithium ion batteries used by those rovers, the Chinese model will eventually run on a radioisotope thermoelectric generator to ensure a constant energy supply. With an average speed of 100 meters/hour, it can negotiate inclines and has automatic sensors to prevent it from crashing into other objects.
Rival rovers are being developed by similar institutes in Beijing and elsewhere.
In late 2008, Chen Qiufa (deputy Minister of MIIT and head of SASTIND) indicated that Chang’e 3 Lunar Rover would launch in late 2011 on a Long March 3B rocket. The rover will conduct studies of the Moon’s geology, topography, and mineral and chemical composition.
In 2009, the 2013 launch date is confirmed, for a landing craft and rover called Chang'e-3. It will use variable thrusters to make a vertical landing on the surface near the moon's equator area. The lunar rover will leave Chang'e-3 and work on the surface for three months. Energy will be provided by radioisotope thermoelectric generator so that the rover survives lunar nights.
Automated sample return (Chang'e 4)The third phase of the lunar exploration program is planned for 2017 with the use of the CZ-5/E heavy launch vehicle. On the basis of the lander mission, a lunar sample return mission will be undertaken, with up to two kilograms of lunar samples returned to Earth.
After that a manned lunar landing might be possible in 2025–2030.