Chang'e 3 Lunar Mission By China National Space Administration

In January 2004, China's lunar orbiter project was formally established. The first Chinese lunar orbiter, Chang'e 1, was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center on 24 October 2007 and entered lunar orbit on 5 November. The spacecraft operated until 1 March 2009, when it was intentionally crashed into the surface of the Moon. Data gathered by Chang'e 1 were used to create an accurate and high-resolution 3D map of the entire lunar surface, assisting site selection for the Chang'e 3 lander.
Chang'e 1's successor, Chang'e 2, was approved on October 2008 and was launched on 1 October 2010 to conduct research from a 100-km-high lunar orbit, in preparation for Chang'e 3's 2013 soft landing. Chang'e 2, though similar in design to Chang'e 1, was equipped with improved instruments and provided higher-resolution imagery of the lunar surface to assist in the planning of the Chang'e 3 mission. In 2012, Chang'e 2 was dispatched on an extended mission to the asteroid 4179 Toutatis.
In March 2012, China began manufacturing the body and payload of the Chang'e 3 lander, planning to perform lunar surface and space studies independently of the mission's mobile rover. Like its orbiting predecessors, the Chang'e 3 mission is seen as a precursor to further robotic lunar exploration missions, including Chang'e 5, a sample return mission planned for 2017. Following these automated missions, a manned landing may be conducted around 2025.