When China's Chang'e 3 mission succeeded in 2013, it was the first ever rocket to make a soft landing on the moon in nearly four decades. Recently, NASA has only made one landing, in 1972. The United States is working hard to return to the moon, but rival China is redoubling its efforts.
The Chinese government announced a few hours ago that it plans to accelerate its space exploration plan. It thus aims to speed up trips between 2017 and 2018. By the end of 2020, China wants to send a special probe to the moon, which will have the task of collecting informace about the surroundings. China's Chang'e 5 mission should be implemented in a few months, apparently the government wants to study the environment on the moon and get some samples for further analysis.
However, the mission called Chang'e 4 is even more interesting, as it will focus on the far side of the Moon. The plan is to send a lander and a rover to the lunar surface, where various tests related to how the moon was actually formed and how old it is will be performed. That mission will take place sometime in 2018, which is when Inde will send its second Lunar Lander.
Source: BGR
