A Chinese satellite is expected to orbit Mars in 2009, thanks to an agreement the country signed with Russia on Monday．

　　During President Hu Jintao's visit to Moscow, the two countries agreed to carry out an unmanned project together to the red planet and one of its moons in two years, the China National Space Administration said yesterday in Beijing．

　　The agreement represents a“milestone”in the history of space cooperation between the two neighbors, the agency said in a statement．

　　According to the agreement, a micro-satellite developed by China will be sent up along with“Phobos Explorer”, the Russia spacecraft, on top of a Russian rocket in 2009．

　　The timetable was not mentioned, but earlier Russian reports said the launch window for the 10-11 month voyage to Phobos, a Martian moon, will be October 2009．

　　After entering Mars' orbit, the Chinese micro-satellite will be removed from the Russian spacecraft, and probe the Martian space environment．

　　The“Phobos Explorer”spacecraft, with some equipment developed by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, will land on the Martian moon and return to Earth with soil samples(样本)．

　　Last year, the Russian space chief told that his country would work“closely”with China on moon exploration．

　　Youriy Nosenko, chief of the Russian space agency, told a press conference in Beijing last November that Russia regards China as a“partner”in space exploration, and the two sides have shown interest in a moon project．

　　China has started a three-stage moon exploration project, including sending a moon orbiter some time this year, followed by a soft landing in 2012 and the return of moon samples in another five years．

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