焦点访谈｜从“跟跑”“并跑”到部分“领跑”，一起去看20年探月传奇

Core Viewpoint - The article highlights the significant achievements and future plans of China's lunar exploration program, particularly in the context of the 20th anniversary of the lunar exploration initiative and the ongoing exhibition showcasing its milestones [1][24]. Group 1: Lunar Exploration Milestones - The Chang'e program began in 2004 with a three-step strategy: orbiting, landing, and returning [6]. - Chang'e 1, launched on October 24, 2007, marked China's first lunar satellite, making China the fifth country to launch a lunar probe [4]. - Chang'e 3 successfully landed on the moon on December 14, 2013, carrying the Yutu rover, which set a record for the longest operational time on the lunar surface [8]. - Chang'e 4 achieved the first soft landing on the far side of the moon on January 3, 2019, a historic milestone in lunar exploration [8][11]. Group 2: Technological Innovations and Challenges - The Chang'e 5 mission, launched on November 24, 2020, successfully returned 1,731 grams of lunar samples to Earth on December 17, 2020, marking China's first retrieval of extraterrestrial materials [13]. - The mission involved a complex design with four spacecraft components, showcasing advancements in technology and engineering [13]. - The lunar samples collected have led to over 100 scientific papers, including the discovery of a new mineral named "Chang'e Stone" [19][21]. Group 3: Future Plans and International Collaboration - Future missions include Chang'e 7, aimed at exploring the lunar south pole for water, and Chang'e 8, which will focus on establishing communication and energy systems on the moon [22]. - The program emphasizes international collaboration, inviting other countries and research institutions to participate in lunar exploration efforts [22]. - The overarching goal is to advance lunar exploration and support the construction of a lunar space station over the next 10 to 20 years [22].