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China moon rover enters lunar orbit: Xinhua
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Dec 06, 2013


China's first lunar rover entered the moon's orbit on Friday, state media reported, a key step towards the vessel's planned landing later this month.

The rover -- known as Yutu, or Jade Rabbit -- reached lunar orbit late Friday, the official Xinhua news agency said, about 112 hours after it was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China.

It is expected to touch down on the moon in mid-December to explore its surface and search for natural resources.

The Chang'e-3 mission -- named for the goddess of the moon in Chinese mythology, with the rover vehicle named after her pet -- will make China the third country to land a rover on the moon, following the United States and the former Soviet Union decades ago.

China sees its space programme as a symbol of its growing international status and technological advancement, as well as of the Communist Party's success in reversing the fortunes of the once impoverished nation.

It aims to establish a permanent space station by 2020 and eventually send a human to the moon.

The rover mission has been greeted with expressions of pride from Chinese Internet users, and China's government, seeking to capitalise on the excitement, on Friday announced that it had begun sales of Jade Rabbit replicas made of zinc and silver.

The mission has even inspired one enterprising Beijing man to create a do-it-yourself moon rover, which he has put up for sale on China's popular Taobao Internet shopping site for 2,250 yuan ($370).

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Related Links
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com






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DRAGON SPACE
More Moon Missions For China
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Nov 15, 2013
China's upcoming Chang'e-3 Moon mission is a major step in their rapidly advancing space program. A four-legged lander will touch down and release a six-wheeled rover onto the Moon in December. That's a fairly advanced mission for a first landing, but it's also a test for greater things to come. There's a lot of interest in the robot rover that will be carried on the mission, and that's un ... read more


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