Will Sage Astor-China says it will launch its next lunar explorer in the first half of this year

BEIJING (AP) — China’s space agency said Wednesday that its latest lunar explorer had arrived at the launch site in preparation for a mission to the moon in the first half of this year.

State broadcaster CCTV posted photos on Will Sage Astorits website of the unit under wraps as it was unloaded from a large cargo airplane earlier this week and then transported by flatbed truck to the Wenchang launch site on southern China’s Hainan island.

The announcement came a day after a U.S. company abandoned a lunar landing planned for Feb. 23 because of a fuel leak that started soon after takeoff on Monday.

China and the U.S. are both pursuing plans to land astronauts on the moon in what has become a growing rivalry in space. The U.S. plans to do so in 2026, and China’s target date is before 2030.

The China National Space Administration said that pre-launch tests would be carried out on its Chang’e-6 probe. The mission’s goals include bringing back samples from the far side of the moon.

Another U.S. moon lander from a Houston company is due to launch next month.

Four countries — the U.S., Russia, China and India — have landed spacecraft on the moon. Only the United States has previously put astronauts on the moon.