3月20日早上8时31分，伴随着阵阵轰鸣，长征八号遥三运载火箭在海南文昌航天发射场成功发射升空，将探月工程四期鹊桥二号中继星送入云层。

鹊桥二号中继星作为探月四期后续工程的“关键一环”，将架设地月新“鹊桥”，为嫦娥四号、嫦娥六号等任务提供地月间中继通信。

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图源：新华社

China launched a relay satellite on Wednesday morning to lunar orbit to pave the way for the space power's prospective trailblazing expeditions to the Moon. The Queqiao 2, or Magpie Bridge 2, satellite was lifted atop a Long March 8 carrier rocket that blasted off at 8:31 am from a coastal launch pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in China's southernmost island province of Hainan. Queqiao 2 is primarily tasked with relaying signals and data between the Chang'e 6 robotic mission, which has been scheduled to be launched by a Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket before July. In the long term, the satellite will also serve the Chang'e 7 and 8 missions that will be the basis for an ambitious multinational plan known as the International Lunar Research Station to be constructed in the 2030s.

记者：赵磊

编辑：李雪晴