A Chinese probe is expected to touch down on the dark side of the moon on Thursday, according to the CGTN state broadcaster, in a groundbreaking mission in space exploration. China's space agency, however, has not confirmed the landing date for the unmanned Chang'e 4 lunar lander and rover spacecraft, which was launched on December 8, 2018 and is named after the Chinese goddess of the moon. If the manoeuvre is successful, China will become the first country to land an object on the far side of Earth's nearest celestial neighbour. The probe is carrying a robot vehicle that is to explore both above and below the lunar surface after arriving at the South Pole-Aitken basin's Von Karman crater. It is also equipped with a panorama camera and measuring devices to conduct experiments. It will perform radio-astronomical studies that, because the far side always faces away from Earth, will be "free from interference from our planet's ionosphere, human-made radio frequencies and auroral radiation noise", according to space industry expert Leonard David.