China positions rocket ahead of ambitious lunar mission

A Long March-5 rocket is seen at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in south China’s Hainan Province (Zhang Gaoxiang/Xinhua/AP)

China on Tuesday moved a massive rocket into place in preparation for launching a mission to bring back materials from the moon for the first time in four decades.

The Long March-5 was transported by tractor from its hangar to the nearby launch site at the space base in Wenchang, along the coast of the southern island province of Hainan.