Space Mining Update - China Launches Jade Rabbit

Mining & Minerals - Evaluations / Off-World Exploration, Mining, & Technology

Date posted: 03/15/14

China has launched Jade Rabbit, its first lunar rover set to explore the surface of the Moon hoping to find rare earth minerals in its crust. This launch could mark the successful soft landing of a third country on the moon, after United States and Russia.\nZhang Zhenshong, director of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center said that China will strive for our space dream as part of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation. Professor Ouyang, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that China is looking at the potential natural resources the Moon likely holds. The Chinese spacecraft is equipped with a round-penetrating radar to measure the lunar soil and crust. He said that the Moon is likely full of important resources mainly rare earth elements, titanium, and uranium, which the Earth is really short of, and these resources can be developed without limitation. China plans to send another mission to gather lunar samples in 2020 if this mission proves to be successful.