China hopes to send a rover to the far side of the moon, which would be the first time humanity lands a lunar probe there, a scientist from the Chinese government's moon exploration department said Tuesday.

The plan to land Chang'e-4 lunar probe on the far side of the moon could be realized before 2020, Zou Yongliao from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said at a deep-space exploration forum, as quoted by the Xinhua news agency.

Chang'e-4 was a backup probe for the Chang'e-3 mission that landed a spacecraft on the moon two years ago.

"China will be the first to complete the task if it is successful," the agency cited Zou as saying.

He stressed that the moon's hidden side was attractive to scientists due to the absence of electromagnetic waves, making it an ideal site for low-frequency radio research.

"If we can can place a frequency spectrograph on the far side, we can fill a void," Zou told the conference.

China's ambitious space program also includes a permanent space station and manned flights to the moon and Mars.

Source: Sputnik News