By By Robert Myles Dec 4, 2013 in Science Xichang - Parts of China’s Long March rocket, launched on Monday to take China’s first moon rover into orbit, fell to Earth causing extensive damage to two houses. On Monday, a Chinese Long March launch vehicle completed a successful lift-off from China’s But two householders in a village in Hunan province won’t forget the launch day as, eight minutes after the rocket left the launch-pad, their houses suffered extensive damage as parts of the Long March-3B carrier rocket fell to the ground. No casualties were reported as a result of the incident and, while Chinese authorities have been swift to agree compensation, with one householder receiving 10,800 yuan ($1,800) and another 5,200 yuan, there have been calls for the Chinese government to introduce an insurance plan to cover property losses, as well as deaths or injuries, arising from space launches. One village resident, describing the incident when a desk-sized chunk of rocket hurtled from the sky, smashing through the wooden roof of his house, said, “Three of the roof beams have crashed down on our house, and a big hole has been punched into our barn,” reports the South As China’s space program gears up for ever more ambitious missions, life for villagers in Hunan province has become increasingly hazardous. China’s headlong rush into space means that the number of rocket launches is now as many as 20 a year, Zhang Jianheng, deputy general manager with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Cooperation, told the official Xinhua news agency. Monday’s incident involving space debris causing damage on terra firma was just the latest of an estimated 20 incidents since the early 1990s which have seen residents of the province’s Suining county on the receiving end of space junk. Such has become the extent of the problem, that Ren Zili, a professor of insurance laws at Beihang University, told the South China Daily, "Suppose the rocket wreckage hit a person. What would the authorities do? If the authority continues to handle the compensation by individual cases, there is never going to be a solution at the system level." Ren highlighted the cases of both NASA and the European Space Agency. Both space agencies have established insurance plans to cover losses arising from space launches. He added that China could do to borrow other countries’ practices. Prior to Monday’s launch of the Chang'e-3 lunar probe Chinese authorities had evacuated an estimated 180,000 people from Sichuan and Hunan provinces near the Xichang launch site. The Chang'e-3 lunar lander is the latest stage in China’s space program which envisages completion of a Chinese space station by 2020, an un-crewed Mars exploration mission between 2014 and 2033, followed by a manned Chinese mission to Mars between 2040 and 2060. The Long March-3B rocket carrying the Chang'e-3 lunar probe blasts off from the launch pad at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan province December 2, 2013 With permission by Reuters / China Daily Following the incident, there were demands for the introduction of a comprehensive insurance scheme covering such eventualities.On Monday, a Chinese Long March launch vehicle completed a successful lift-off from China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in the south-western province of Sichuan. On board was China’s first moon rover, the Chang'e-3 , the latest example of China’s expanding space program, reports China Daily But two householders in a village in Hunan province won’t forget the launch day as, eight minutes after the rocket left the launch-pad, their houses suffered extensive damage as parts of the Long March-3B carrier rocket fell to the ground.No casualties were reported as a result of the incident and, while Chinese authorities have been swift to agree compensation, with one householder receiving 10,800 yuan ($1,800) and another 5,200 yuan, there have been calls for the Chinese government to introduce an insurance plan to cover property losses, as well as deaths or injuries, arising from space launches.One village resident, describing the incident when a desk-sized chunk of rocket hurtled from the sky, smashing through the wooden roof of his house, said, “Three of the roof beams have crashed down on our house, and a big hole has been punched into our barn,” reports the South China Morning Post . Another said, “The huge sound scared the living daylights out of me.”As China’s space program gears up for ever more ambitious missions, life for villagers in Hunan province has become increasingly hazardous. China’s headlong rush into space means that the number of rocket launches is now as many as 20 a year, Zhang Jianheng, deputy general manager with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Cooperation, told the official Xinhua news agency.Monday’s incident involving space debris causing damage on terra firma was just the latest of an estimated 20 incidents since the early 1990s which have seen residents of the province’s Suining county on the receiving end of space junk.Such has become the extent of the problem, that Ren Zili, a professor of insurance laws at Beihang University, told the South China Daily,Ren highlighted the cases of both NASA and the European Space Agency. Both space agencies have established insurance plans to cover losses arising from space launches. He added that China could do to borrow other countries’ practices.Prior to Monday’s launch of the Chang'e-3 lunar probe Chinese authorities had evacuated an estimated 180,000 people from Sichuan and Hunan provinces near the Xichang launch site.The Chang'e-3 lunar lander is the latest stage in China’s space program which envisages completion of a Chinese space station by 2020, an un-crewed Mars exploration mission between 2014 and 2033, followed by a manned Chinese mission to Mars between 2040 and 2060. More about Chinese space program, chinese moon lander, Jade Rabbit, Jade Rabbit moon rover, space debris damage More news from Chinese space progra... chinese moon lander Jade Rabbit Jade Rabbit moon rov... space debris damage Space junk moon exploration Xichang launch centr... Chang e3 lunar lande... Solar system Chinese Lunar Explor...