Special report: China launches first lunar orbiter

The moon is engulfed in the Earth's shadow during a total lunar eclipse on in this Oct. 27, 2004, file photo as viewed from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. China's first lunar probing satellite, Chang'e-1, will be put to test Thursday morning when the Earth eclipses the Sun and blocks the supply of solar energy. (Photo:chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's first lunar probing satellite, Chang'e-1, will be put to test Thursday morning when the Earth eclipses the Sun and blocks the supply of solar energy.

    From about 10 a.m., the satellite will be hidden from the solar rays and lost the contact from the Earth for two and a half hours, said Ye Peijian, chief commander and designer in charge of the satellite system.

    Scientists have redirected the orbit of the satellite and shortened the time it is out of direct sunlight by almost one hour and a half, Ye said.

    Ye said the European Space Agency would also help to monitor the satellite and the final results would not be clear until this evening.

    The satellite would also perform a second orbital adjustment during another eclipse in August, he said.

    The 2,350-kilogram satellite carrying eight surveying facilities aims to make a three-dimensional survey of the moon's surface. It will also analyze the abundance and distribution of elements on the lunar surface, investigate the characteristics of the powdery soil layer on the surface, and explore the environment between the Earth and the moon.

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

Total lunar eclipse to occur Wednesday night

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Residents of the Americas, Europe and Africa will have the best view of a total lunar eclipse in the late night hours of Feb. 20, U.S. space agency NASA forecast Tuesday.

    In the United States, the entire eclipse will be visible for the majority of the country. However, residents on the West Coast will miss out on watching the early stages of the eclipse, as it begins before moonrise. Full story

Lunar eclipse saving Columbus 5 centuries ago to reappear

    BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The moon eclipse that saved Christopher Columbus more than five centuries ago will recreate late Wednesday and early Thursday and the moon will turn an eerie shade of red for people in the western hemisphere.

    The moon will be in total eclipse from 0301 GMT to 0351 GMT. This will be visible east of the Rocky Mountains in North America, as well as in all of Central and South America, West Africa and Western Europe. The zenith of totality is close to French Guiana. Full story

China's first lunar probe prepares for eclipse

China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, started braking at perilune, which will help it slow down to enter the moon's orbit. Instructions for the braking was issued by the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) at around 11:15 a.m., Nov. 5, 2007, when the probe reached a position 200 km away from the moon. (Xinhuanet Photo)

    BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's space technicians are preparing for the first major challenge faced by lunar satellite Chang'e-1 when the Earth eclipses the sun and blocks the supply of solar energy on Feb. 21.

    Scientists have had to redirect the orbit of the satellite, which has been operating for 100 days as of Friday, in order to shorten the time it is out of direct sunlight.  Full story