China's second unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e 2, is expected to have enough fuel to fly back to earth, the vice chief designer of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) said Tuesday.

Chang'e 2 was carried into lunar orbit by a rocket, and only corrected once during the transfer from earth orbit to lunar orbit, so a large amount of fuel will be left after its mission, Zhou Jianliang, the vice chief-designer of BACC, said.

Zhou said there are three possible "fates" for Chang'e 2 after it finishes its six-month mission: landing on the Moon; flying to outer space; or returning to the Earth. The fate of Chang'e 2 will be decided according to its condition when the mission is complete.

The Long March 3C carrier rocket took Chang'e 2 into space from southwest China on October 1. The probe completed its final braking on October 9 and is now orbiting the Moon at a 100 km-high orbit.

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2010)