China will tomorrow become the first country in almost 40 years to soft-land a probe on the moon, in a huge step forward for its ambitious space programme. The nation will become the third in history to launch a lunar probe when the device, named 'Jade Rabbit' after a Chinese folklore character, launches at 5.30pm on Sunday evening, which is 1.30am local time. The mission forms part of a plan in which China hopes to build a permanent lunar base in order to launch future missions to Mars within the next 15 years.