China to take next giant leap in October

China's second lunar probe, Chang'e-2, will be launched in October 2010, a top space scientist said yesterday.

Ye Peijian, chief designer of the nation's first moon probe, told the third International Conference on Space Information Technology in Beijing yesterday that the country's lunar lander and rover, Chang'e-3, is also well on the way toward liftoff - the project is in the prototype stage and its launch is set for before 2013.

Ye said the second lunar orbiter will carry different payloads and orbit the moon in a different way.