A picture of the moon surface taken by the on-board camera of the lunar probe Chang'e-3 on the screen of the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre in Beijing. China landed an unmanned spacecraft on the moon on Saturday, state media reported, in the first such "soft-landing" since 1976, becoming the third country to do so after the United States and the former Soviet Union. (Wang Jianmin/The Associated Press)
CBC news
China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, state media said, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually put a Chinese astronaut on the moon.
The unmanned Chang'e 3 lander, named after a mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, touched down on Earth's nearest neighbor following a 12-minute landing process.
The probe carried a six-wheeled moon rover called "Yutu," or "Jade Rabbit," the goddess' pet. After landing Saturday evening on a fairly flat, Earth-facing part of the moon, the rover was slated to separate from the Chang'e eight hours later and embark on a three-month scientific exploration.
Some comments:
- Countlou Guest
- Rank 252
Why....it's been done. Move on. They've stolen everyone else's technology for eons and that's the best they can come up with.
Not impressed.
@Countlou
Rockets were invented by the Chinese centuries ago. We 'stole' their technology.