China will on Friday launch one of its most ambitious space missions yet, a probe that will retrieve samples from the far side of the moon and bring them back to Earth within two months.
If successful, it will be a first for any country.
The Chinese government has ambitions to become a space and scientific power, with plans to land Chinese astronauts on the moon and set up a base at the moon’s south pole by 2030. The move marks a new frontier in a wide-ranging rivalry with the United States, including in computer chips and solar panels.