China first lunar landing probe launchedIn 2013, China launched the Chang'e-3 lunar probe, carrying the Jade Rabbit rover. The spacecraft headed into orbit and then on to the Moon. This was hoped to become the country's first extraterrestrial landing craft, and a showcase for China's rising technological abilities. The lift-off of the Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's southwestern Sichuan province was broacast live on the nation's state television. The robot rover's mission was to conduct geological surveys and investigate the Moon's natural resources. Previously, China's had put their Chang'e-1 into moon orbit (launched 24 Oct 2007) taking images and spectral analyses, and sent three astronauts on a 15 day mission orbitting the Earth (Jun 2013), during which their craft docked with an experimental space lab.«[The local launch time in China was 01:30 am, on 2 Dec 2013, corresponding to 17:30 GMT on 1 Dec in Britain.] |
