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China to launch moon rock-collecting probe in 2017 after successful soft landing of Chang'e 3
• BEIJING (AP) -- China said Monday it was on track to launch a fifth lunar probe with the aim of bringing back lunar soil and rock samples following the successful moon landing of a space probe.
• The new mission planned for 2017 would mark the third and final phase of China's robotic lunar exploration program and pave the way for possibly landing an astronaut on the moon after 2020.
• On Saturday, Chang'e 3 set down on the moon, marking the first soft landing of a space probe on the lunar surface in 37 years. The landing vehicle will conduct scientific research for a year and its accompanying rover will survey the moon's structure and probe for natural resources.
• A challenge for both is to withstand temperatures ranging from 120 degrees Celsius (248 Fahrenheit) to minus 180 C (minus 184 F), said Wu Zhijian, spokesman for the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.
• Chang'e 4 is intended to be an improved version of the Chang'e 3 that will pave the way for the fifth probe.
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Today in History
The Associated Press
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• Today is Monday, Dec. 16, the 350th day of 2013. There are 15 days left in the year.
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• Today's Highlight in History:
• On Dec. 16, 1773, the Boston Tea Party took place as American colonists boarded a British ship and dumped more than 300 chests of tea into Boston Harbor to protest tea taxes.
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• On this date:
• In 1653, Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
• In 1809, the French Senate granted a divorce decree to Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Josephine (the dissolution was made final the following month).
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