| The picture shows China's first self-innovation moon orbiter Chang'e I blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. (Beijing Time), October 24, 2007 from the No. 3 launching tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center of southwestern Sichuan Province. Space experts from Japan, Germany and other countries were invited to watch the launching process. "The launch was very successful, and everything is proceeding just as it's planned," said Wu Ji, director of the Space Science and Applied Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The orbiter will obtain three-dimensional images of the Moon's surface, chart elements on the Moon, measure the thickness of lunar soil, as well as monitor the space environment between the Moon and the Earth. This is the first step into the nation's ambitious three-stage moon mission, marking a new milestone in the country's space exploration history. (Xinhua) |
