China’s secretive space program is claiming a new achievement. According to state media, the service module of a test lunar orbiter successfully entered an eight-hour circuit around the moon. The orbiter returned to Earth in November, but the service module stayed in a position to put it in sync with Earth’s orbit. It is gathering data to help China prepare for the Chang’e 5 mission to make a soft landing on the moon in 2017. If it does so successfully, China will join only the U.S. and Russia in that feat.
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