BEIJING — A Long March rocket carrying the Chang'e 3 lunar lander was launced on Monday at 1:30 a.m. from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, reported the official Xinhua News Agency.
China successfully launched a lunar probe into space Monday morning, on a two-week journey to deliver a robotic rover to the surface of the moon. The mission marks China's first attempt at soft-landing a spacecraft on an extra-terrestrial body, and could benefit future plans to land Chinese astronauts on the moon.
While China's space achievements appear to imitate those of the USA and Soviet Union in decades past, they stir considerable pride and nationalism within China, whose government stresses its use of indigenous technology, and peaceful aims in space. Live TV broadcasts showed excited scenes at the launch center, where a reporter from the national broadcaster CCTV embraced one delighted designer.
The spacecraft, bearing China's red, five-starred flag, will become the first to visit the moon since the last Soviet unmanned mission there in 1976. One new feature is a ground-penetrating radar to measure the lunar soil and crust. The mission represents the second stage of China's slow but steady lunar program. In phase three, China will send another robotic probe to gather lunar samples, possibly by 2020. A manned mission could then follow.
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China successfully launched a lunar probe into space Monday morning, on a two-week journey to deliver a robotic rover to the surface of the moon. The mission marks China's first attempt at soft-landing a spacecraft on an extra-terrestrial body, and could benefit future plans to land Chinese astronauts on the moon.
While China's space achievements appear to imitate those of the USA and Soviet Union in decades past, they stir considerable pride and nationalism within China, whose government stresses its use of indigenous technology, and peaceful aims in space. Live TV broadcasts showed excited scenes at the launch center, where a reporter from the national broadcaster CCTV embraced one delighted designer.
The spacecraft, bearing China's red, five-starred flag, will become the first to visit the moon since the last Soviet unmanned mission there in 1976. One new feature is a ground-penetrating radar to measure the lunar soil and crust. The mission represents the second stage of China's slow but steady lunar program. In phase three, China will send another robotic probe to gather lunar samples, possibly by 2020. A manned mission could then follow.
Further www.usatoday.com