China the first country that land on the dark side of the moon.

Today China launched a relay satellite designed to establish a communication link between earth and a planned lunar probe that will explore the dark side of the moon. The official news agency, Xinhua said the satellite was launched at 5:28 a.m. (2128 GMT Sunday) on a Long March-4C rocket from the Xichang launch center in the southwest of the country. The satellite will settle in an orbit about 455,000 km (282,555 miles) from earth and will be the world’s first communication satellite operating there. China aims to catch up with Russia and the United States to become a major space power by 2030. It is planning to launch construction of its own manned space station next year. No space program has ever reached that part of the lunar surface because of communications difficulties. The satellite called Queqiao – which means “Magpie Bridge” and comes from a Chinese folk story in which an arc formed by birds reunites two lovers separated by the heavens – will then act as a bridge between ground stations and the lunar probe. China plans to send its lunar lander and rover, Chang’e 4, to the dark side of the moon by the end of this year. The lunar probe will carry seeds for growing potatoes and arabidopsis, a flowering plant related to cabbage, for a “lunar mini biosphere” experiment. Chinese space officials aim to attempt a human landing in 15 years. The China National Space Administration released a video in April showcasing its planned outpost, a “lunar palace” on the dark side of the moon, with cabins for scientists. Queqiao will also carry a radio antennae that researchers will use to study the early universe, what astronomers call the “cosmic dark ages” after the big bang and before the first stars in the universe were formed. Being in the shadow of the moon blocks electromagnetic interference from Earth, offering a better view of radio signals in the universe and enabling researchers to “listen” to the cosmos.