China Media Group:

My question for the spokesperson: General Secretary Xi Jinping noted in his congratulatory message on the complete success of the Chang'e-6 mission that over the past 20 years, all those involved in the project have embarked on a path of high-quality and highly effective lunar exploration. How do you define "high-quality" and "highly effective" in the context of lunar exploration? What are the specific examples? Thank you.

Bian Zhigang:

I believe this is evident in every aspect of our work. Our lunar exploration project has been ongoing for 20 years. Over the past two decades, we have faced this momentous project head-on and completed the engineering and scientific tasks beyond the set targets, all within the specified timeframe and budget. I'll leave more details to Mr. Hu.

Hu Hao:

I have been involved in this project for quite some time, so I'll break it down for you. China's lunar exploration project started relatively late, as multiple countries had already launched their projects before us. Around the time of the Chang'e-1 probe, other countries had already conducted more than 100 lunar exploration activities. Therefore, it was a late start for China. However, we made sound plans, drawing upon the experiences of other countries, and made appropriate arrangements in accordance with China's national conditions. We proposed a three-step lunar exploration strategy at that time: "orbiting, landing, and returning." This has advanced the country's overall space exploration technology, nurtured a group of talented individuals, and improved our understanding of the moon. With reasonable costs and a comparatively short period, this project has yielded significant results. Today, the reason why some foreign experts and institutions have taken the initiative to work with us in exploring the moon is our hard work over the past two decades. Our success has ensured our credibility and boosted the confidence of all participants.

In addition, we are also witnessing improvements in technological capacities and their enabling conditions. At the time of the Chang'e-1 probe, we lacked the Chinese Deep Space Network , the measurement techniques related to the re-entry corridor , and the ability to conduct high-speed re-entry and return at escape velocity. However, these challenges have been overcome in the past two decades. China has not only landed on the moon but also reached Mars. Over this period, we have forged a path, developed a skilled team, and achieved numerous accomplishments. Thank you.