‘We Welcome Successful Launch Of Chandrayaan-2’: China Seeks Joint Exploration Of Moon With India

The Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Hua Chunying has released a statement saying that the country welcomes the successful launch of India’s lunar mission Chandrayaan-2, and looks at the development positively, reports TASS. She also said that China was ready to cooperate with India with regard to lunar exploration.

"The exploration and exploitation of space, including the Moon and other planets, is a common task of the humanity, which needs to be addressed by joint effort......We are willing to join forces with India and other countries to advance the lunar exploration (sic),” she said.

Chandrayaan 2 had been launched into orbit on 22 July from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The lunar rover aboard the spacecraft will attempt to make a soft landing on the moon’s south pole region, making India the first country to achieve said feat.

China had previously made a soft landing of a rover on the far side of the moon as part of its Chang'e 4 mission, becoming the first country to make a soft landing on the far side of the moon.