XICHANG, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- China will launch the Chang'e-3 lunar probe to the moon at 1:30 a.m. Monday from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the mission's launching headquarters said here Saturday.
It will be the first time for China to send a spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body, where it will conduct surveys on the moon.
Facilities at the launching site are in good condition and preparations are going well, according to the headquarters.
The probe will be launched to orbit aboard an enhanced Long March-3B carrier which is more than three meters in diameter and 56.4 meters high.
The mission will be the 25th launch of the Long March-3B, which is the most powerful launch vehicle in the Long March fleet.
Engineers have adopted technologies of high-precision guidance and control, multiple narrow window launches, transmission system for remote sensing, and reduction of the rocket's deadweight, said Cen Zheng, rocket system commander-in-chief of the mission.
Chang'e-3 comprises a lander and a moon rover called "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit). The lunar probe will land on the moon in mid-December if everything goes according to plan.
Tasks for Yutu include surveying the moon's geological structure and surface substances, while looking for natural resources.
So far, only the United States and the former Soviet Union have soft-landed on the moon.
After entering lunar orbit, Chang'e-3 will go through six stages of deceleration to descend from 15 km above to the lunar surface.
The soft-landing processes of the U.S. and former Soviet Union's unmanned spacecraft had no capacity to hover or avoid obstacles. Chang'e-3, on the other hand, can accurately survey landforms at the landing site and identify the safest spots on which to land.
In order to land quickly, the probe is equipped with high-precision, fast-response sensors to analyze its motion and surroundings. The variable thrust engine (completely designed and made by Chinese scientists) can generate up to 7,500 newtons of thrust.
XICHANG, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The launch of China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe, scheduled in early December, will have to target multiple narrow windows that last only minutes each, said a spokesman for the project Friday..
"The lunar probe currently has two launch windows each day for three consecutive days. The first window on the first day lasts four minutes, and the second window one minute," said Pei Zhaoyu, spokesman for the lunar probe mission, at a press briefing in Xichang, Sichuan Province. Full story
BEIJING, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- China will strive to launch its Chang'e-3 lunar probe at the optimal time within the launch window, the Xichang Satellite Launch Center said on Friday.
China is scheduled to launch the probe in early December. It will be the first time for a Chinese spacecraft to soft-land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body. Full story
BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- China is scheduled to launch Chang'e-3 lunar probe in early December, a spokesman with State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) said Tuesday.
The lunar probe will land on the moon in mid-December if everything is successful, said SASTIND spokesman Wu Zhijian. Full story
BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- China has named its first moon rover "Yutu", or jade rabbit, following an online poll seeking name proposals from the Chinese worldwide.
In Chinese folklore, Yutu is the white pet rabbit of Chang'e, who has been worshipped as the moon goddess in China for thousands of years and whose name is used for the country's lunar probe program. Full story
BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- China's homegrown navigation system BeiDou is expected to achieve full-scale global coverage by around 2020, a leading scientist told Xinhua on Sunday.
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) will then be able to provide highly accurate and reliable positioning, navigation and timing service with the aid of a constellation of 35 satellites, said Ye Peijian, chief commander of Chang'e-3, China's lunar probe mission. Full story
BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China's space probe Chang'e-2 has flew to an outer space about 50 million km from the Earth, marking a new height in the nation's deep space exploration, Chinese scientists said on Sunday.
The probe, which is now "in good conditions", reached the height at around 1 a.m. Sunday Beijing Time, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence(SASTIND) said in a statement. Full story
BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese astronauts are capable of conducting medium and long-term space missions and enduring the harsh physical conditions involved, a senior astronaut said on Thursday.
"From Shenzhou V to Shenzhou X, we have been laying the foundation for future medium and long-term missions," said Nie Haisheng, one of three astronauts who took part in last month's 15-day space mission, the longest yet for China. Full story
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