Li Guoping, spokesman for China National Space Administration (CNSA), speaks during a news conference in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 22, 2007. China is planning to launch its first moon orbiter on Oct. 24 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- China is planning to launch its first moon orbiter at around 6 p.m. on October 24 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province.

    "The satellite will be launched between October 24 and 26 and our first choice is around 6 p.m. on October 24," a spokesman for the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

    The circumlunar satellite, which has been named Chang'e I after the legendary Chinese goddess who, according to legend, flew to the moon, and the carrier Long March 3A have passed all pre-launch tests and have been transported to the launch site.

    The lunar probe is expected to enter earth-moon transfer orbit on October 31 and arrive in the moon's orbit on November 5.

Visitors walk past Long March III carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) located in Southwest China's Sichuan Province Oct. 18, 2007. The country's first moon orbiter, Chang'e I, is set to be launched on Oct. 24. (Photo: China Daily) Photo Gallery>>>

    The satellite will relay the first picture of the moon in late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the moon for a year.

    The orbiter will carry out a series of projects including acquiring 3-D images and analyzing the distribution of elements on the moon's surface, according to the spokesman.

    "Experts from foreign space administrations have been invited to watch the launch on site," said the spokesman.

    "China welcomes international cooperation in space activities," he said.

    China hopes to become the 17th nation to join the International Space Station (ISS) project, Vice Minister of Science and Technology Li Xueyong said on the sidelines of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last week.

    The Chinese government has been pursuing a policy of peaceful use of airspace, Li said.

    The satellite launch will mark the first step of China's three-stage moon mission, which will lead to a moon landing and launch of a moon rover around 2012. In the third phase, another rover will land on the moon and return to earth with lunar soil and stone samples for scientific research around 2017.

    China carried out its maiden piloted space flight in October 2003, making it only the third country in the world after the Soviet Union and the United States to have sent men into space. In October 2005, China completed its second manned space flight, with two astronauts on board.

China's first moon orbiter likely to be invisible to amateur astronomers

BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The chance for amateur astronomy buffs to observe China's first moon orbiter, likely to be launched on Wednesday, is very slim, Chinese space experts said on Tuesday.     The circumlunar satellite, named Chang'e I, is very tiny in open space as it is only 18.1 meters long even when its solar energy board is fully extended, said Sun Zezhou, deputy chief designer of the satellite. Full story

Experts: Three factors likely to affect rocket blastoff for China's moon mission

    BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Experts said Tuesday though China's Long March 3A has completed 14 successful launches in a row, there are three major factors that may affect its coming task to launch the nation's first lunar orbiter.

    The factors include operating errors by staff on the launch site, unfavorable weather and the quality of the rocket itself. Full story

Experts look to avoid problems for China's moon orbiter launch

    BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's space program experts on Tuesday outlined factors that could delay the launch of the country's first lunar orbiter, which could be as early as Wednesday.

    The Long March 3A carrier rocket, which had completed 14 consecutive successful launches, was susceptible to three main factors that could put the launch back: human error at the launch site; unfavorable weather; and mechanical faults. Full story

China to launch 1st moon orbiter in late October

    BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese official said here Tuesday that researchers and technicians are making final preparations for the launch of the country's first moon orbiter, Chang'e I, at the end of October.

    Zhang Qingwei, minister in charge of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND), who is attending the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said in an interview with Xinhua. Full story

China hopes to join Int'l Space Station project    

    BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- China hopes to become the 17th nation joining the International Space Station (ISS) project, Vice Minister of Science and Technology Li Xueyong said on Tuesday.

    "China sincerely wants to cooperate with the United States in space exploration and join the International Space Station project that has already involved 16 nations," said Li, a delegate to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on the sidelines of the event. Full story

Chinese space expert: Int'l cooperation to be trend in space exploration    

    NEW DELHI, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- International cooperation will be a trend in space exploration in the future, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space engineering project who is here attending an meeting on space science.

    In an exclusive interview with Xinhua recently, Zhou said the ambitious missions to the moon and mars have become a hot spot in space exploration, which is not only the endless pursuit of the human being, but also the motivation of the scientific development. Full story