South Korea eyes moon orbiter in 2020, landing 2025

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The lunar probe program will be based on a rocket South Korea is developing at a cost of 3.6 trillion won ($3.9 billion) in the next decade.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea plans to launch a lunar probe in 2020 and make a moon landing by 2025 under a new space project that will develop indigenous rockets to put satellites into orbit, the Science Ministry said on Tuesday.

The lunar probe program will be based on a rocket South Korea is developing at a cost of 3.6 trillion won ($3.9 billion) in the next decade.

South Korea is behind regional powers Japan and China in the space race.

China became only the third country to launch a man into space on its own rocket in 2003 and put its first lunar probe into orbit in early November.

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Japan's first lunar probe began orbiting the moon in October, four years behind schedule due to technical glitches.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; editing by Jon Herskovitz)

($1=925.0 Won)