China’s lunar mission to bring back the first samples ever collected from the moon’s far side is on schedule for next year, officials say, as Beijing ramps up its ambitious plan to send astronauts to the moon this decade and build an international lunar research station. Preparations for the next planned mission – known as Chang’e-6 – were progressing smoothly, China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) said in a statement last week, adding that the mission’s accompanying relay satellite would be deployed in the first half of next year. This week, CNSA also looked ahead to its Chang’e-8 mission slated for 2028, with Chinese officials on Monday calling for increased global collaboration for the unmanned lunar expedition during the International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Chinese expedition in 2028 would welcome joint “mission-level” projects with other countries and international organizations, according to an accompanying document released on the CNSA website. This means China and international partners could work together on spacecraft launch and orbit operation, conduct spacecraft-to-spacecraft “interactions,” and jointly explore the surface of the moon, the document said. The spacecraft would also make room for 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of foreign science payloads, the agency said on its website. This could allow overseas partners to conduct lunar research by “piggybacking” off the mission, Chinese state media said.

Full report : China’s next moon mission aims to do what no country has ever done. Its space ambitions don’t end there.