Beijing, Apr 25 (AP) China will launch its next robot lunar lander in 2024, and it will carry equipment from France, Sweden, Russia and Italy, the official news agency reported.

Plans call for Chang'e 6 to land near the lunar south pole and collect samples for return to Earth, the programme's chief designer, Hu Hao, said at a conference Saturday, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The Chang'e landers are part of Chinese space exploration efforts that also include a probe that is preparing to land a robot rover on Mars. There are also plans for a crewed orbital station, landing a human on the moon and retrieving soil from an asteroid.

In December, the previous moon probe, Chang'e 5, returned lunar rocks to Earth for the first time since the 1970s.

Chang'e 6 is to “collect lunar samples automatically for comprehensive analysis and research,” Hu was quoted as saying at the conference in the eastern city of Nanjing.

The lander is expected to carry instruments developed by scientists from France, Sweden, Italy and Russia, Hu said. He gave no details of what they will do.

The announcement reflects growing interaction between China's secretive, military-linked space programme and other countries. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)