China is planning to be the first country to land a lunar probe on the far side of the moon, a Chinese lunar probe scientist said Tuesday.

周二，一名月球探测工程师介绍，中国正计划发射探测器到月球背面，成为首个登陆月球背面的国家。

The mission will be carried out by Chang'e-4, a backup probe for Chang'e-3, and is slated¹ to be launched before 2020, said Zou Yongliao from the moon exploration department under the Chinese Academy of Sciences at a deep-space exploration forum² Tuesday.

周二，在深空探测论坛上，中科院探月工程部的邹永廖介绍，该任务将由嫦娥四号完成，作为嫦娥三号的后续探测器，嫦娥四号预计在2020年前发射升空。

Zou said government organs have ordered experts to assess the plan over the past 12 plus months. "China will be the first to complete the task if it is successful."

邹永廖称，政府部门组织专家对这项计划进行了长达一年多的评估论证，“如果成功的话，中国将成为首个完成月球背面探测任务的国家”。

The State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense³ announced earlier this year that Chang'e-4 will be launched before 2020.

国防部科技工业局今年早些时候宣布，嫦娥四号将在2020年前发射。

The far side of the moon, or "dark side of the moon" as it is more commonly called, is never visible to Earth because of gravitational forces. According to Zou, the far side of the moon has a clean electromagnetic environment, which provides an ideal field for low frequency radio study. "If we can place a frequency spectrograph on the far side, we can fill a void."

月球背面，又称“月球阴暗面”，就像其称谓一样，由于地球引力的原因，无法从地球球上看到。邹永廖称月球背面拥有非常干净的电磁环境，能为低频无线电研究提供非常理想的场所。“如果我们在其背面安置一台频谱仪，将填补该领域的国际空白。”

Zou said Chang'e-4 is very similar to Chang'e-3 in structure but can handle more payload. It will be used to study the geological conditions of the dark side of the moon.

邹永廖说，嫦娥四号的结构和嫦娥三号基本一致，但增加了更多的有效载荷。该探测器将完成月球背面的地质勘查研究。

China plans to launch its Chang'e-5 lunar probe around 2017 to finish the last chapter in China's three-step (orbiting, landing and return) moon exploration program.

中国计划在2017年前后发射嫦娥五号，完成探月工程三步走战略（环绕、降落、返回）的最后一步。

Li Chunlai, one of the main designers of the lunar probe ground application system, said Chang'e-5 will achieve several breakthroughs, including automatic sampling, ascending⁴ from the moon without a launch site and an unmanned docking 400,000 kilometers above the lunar surface.

月球探测器地面应用系统的主要设计专家李春来称，嫦娥五号将实现多项突破，包括自动采样、无发射场情况下从月球起飞、在距离月面40万千米上空自动对接等。

Chang'e-5 will also have a new launch site and launch rockets, said Li.

他还说，嫦娥5号搭乘的火箭和发射场都也将是新的。

Chang'e-3 landed on the moon in 2013, making China the third country after the Soviet⁵ Union and the United States to soft land a spacecraft⁶ on lunar soil.

嫦娥三号在2013年登陆月球，使中国成为继苏联和美国之后，第三个在月球表面土壤上进行航天器软着陆的国家。