There are several planned lunar missions over the next few years.
Country Name Launch due USA LADEE August, 2013 China Chang'e 3 Second half 2013 (Private) GLXP Moon Express 2015 Russia Luna-Glob 2 / Luna-Resurs 2014 China Chang'e 4 2015 Russia Luna-Glob 1 2015 India Chandrayaan-2 2016 China Chang'e 5 2017 USA ILN Node 1 2018 USA ILN Node 2 2018
China is planning and unmanned rover landing this year.
China is working towards a manned lunar mission in about 2025.
Ukraine had previously offered the People’s Republic of China the so-called unit “E”, developed by Yuzhnoye DO which was responsible for the landing from the lunar orbit to the Moon and return to the orbit. He said that although the project did not take place and once [the Soviet] program was shut down, the unit, however, was seriously improved. “On that basis, but at the current level we have gained a lot to build engines, stages for orbital missions, including missions to the Moon,” the Yuzhnoye DO chief emphasized.
Here is a 35 document that describes the Yuznoye design office capabilities.
China is also leveraging Ukrainian Zenit rocket engine technology.
China is leveraging Russian Soyuz and Ukrainian space technology.
China has a long term commitment to achieving incrementally greater space goals.
A primary driver is national prestige. It is a like Roman bread and circuses for the masses.
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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