Tidbits

Moon rover expected in 2017

China will have a recoverable moon rover that will carry back lunar soil samples by 2017, if technical research progresses smoothly, the chief designer of Chang'e I, the country's first moon probe, said.

"A recoverable moon rover is a must, although it is a much tougher task than what a moon lander entails. So far, all data the experts have obtained about the moon is being collected and processed by remote devices.