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| Photo taken on Dec. 2 shows the launch pad at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, southwest China's Sichuan Province. China will launch the Chang'e-3 lunar probe to the moon at 1:30 a.m. Monday. 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. (Xinhua/Li Gang) |
XICHANG, Sichuan, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- All systems involving the launch of the Chang'e-3 lunar probe are in normal and sound condition as the launch is within an hour, the Xichang Satellite Launch Center announced early Monday.
The weather at the launch site is also favorable for the launch scheduled at 1:30 a.m. Monday, the center said.
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.
If the mission is successful, China will become the third country in the world after the United States and the former Soviet Union to soft-land on the moon.
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.
Yutu, a six-wheel driving rover weighing about 140 kg, will operate in Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, for three months. It can travel at a speed of 200 meters per hour.
The Chang'e-3 mission is the second phase of China's lunar program, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to Earth. It follows the success of the Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2 missions in 2007 and 2010.
"In the past we observed the moon 100 km or 200 km away, but now we can see it face to face," said Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar probe program.
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