Chang'e 3 in Nature magazine
26 November 2013
Nature magazine published an lengthy article on the Chang'e 3 mission today. Most interesting feat is a lunar map showing the landing sites of Soviet and US-American lunar missions and the expected touch down region in the Bay of Rainbows for the Chang'e 3 lander.
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China's lunar probe to land on Moon next month
26 November 2013
China is scheduled to launch Chang'e-3 lunar probe to the Moon in early December, marking the first time for a Chinese spacecraft to soft-land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body, an official said Tuesday. Chang'e-3 encompasses a lander and a moon rover called "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit). The lunar probe will land on the moon in mid-December if everything is successful, said Wu Zhijian, spokesman with State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence
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China's Chang'e-2 lunar probe travels 60 million km
26 November 2013
Lunar probe Chang'e-2 is more than 60 million kilometers away from Earth and has become China's first man-made asteroid, a spokesperson said Tuesday. Still in good condition, Chang'e-2 is heading for deep space and is expected to travel as far as 300 million km from Earth, the longest voyage of any Chinese spacecraft, Wu Zhijian of the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) told reporters at a press conference.
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China names Moon rover "Yutu"
26 November 2013
China has chosen the name "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit) for its first Moon rover, after a worldwide online poll challenged people to come up with names. Li Benzheng, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of China's lunar programme, announced the name at a press conference on Tuesday. "Yutu is a symbol of kindness, purity and agility, and is identical to the Moon rover in both outlook and connotation. Yutu also reflects China's peaceful use of space," said Li. In Chinese folklore, Yutu is the white pet rabbit of Chang'e, the Moon goddess who has lent her name to the Chinese lunar mission.
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