China is poised to launch its latest lunar probe, the Chang'e-5, in November, according to People's Daily newspaper citing the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation on Monday.

The Chang'e-5, which will be the country's fourth moon mission, will be launched aboard the Long March 5 rocket, currently dubbed as the most powerful rocket in the world with a capacity payload of more than 28 tons.

Like Us on Facebook

"With a weight of 8.2 tons, the lunar probe is comprised of four parts: an orbiter, a returned, an ascender and a lander," Ye Peijian, an aerospace expert in China, told People's Daily.

The lander part will be tasked to collect the lunar samples and place them in a vessel found in the ascender, which will dock with the orbiter and the returner. These three will bring the samples back to Earth.

The launch of the Chang'e-5, also the first lunar sample mission after the Soviet Union's Luna 24 more than four decades ago, marks the start of the third phase of China's lunar program.

China has a bold ambition on its space program as it also plans to launch its first Mars probe by the end of the decade to carry out key technological research to bring back samples from Mars, asteroid exploration, exploration of the Jupiter system, and planet fly-by exploration.

The country also plans to soft land a probe on the far side of the moon by 2018 through the Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which is expected to carry out in situ and mobile detection and pass communications at earth-moon L2 point.

TagsChina space program, chang'e 5 spacecraft, Chang'e 5 robotic moon mission