The Chang'e 3

The Chang'e 3 to be launched at the end of 2013.

The Chang'e 3 (嫦娥三号) is a lunar probe in the second phase of the Chang'e 3 Project under the China National Space Administration. The lunar probe is scheduled to be launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at the end of 2013.

The Chang'e 3 is composed of a lander and a lunar probe -- the "Chinese brand" moon vehicle. It will be the first soft-landing by a Chinese orbiter on a celestial body. It will collect interior samples from the moon for analysis, extending the Chang'e project from the surface exploration of the first phase. While the lander waits, the probe will explore the surface of the moon for 90 days. The data collected will be sent directly back to the Earth.

Since February 2008 when the Chang'e 3 mission was authorized, it has gone through three phases -- 21 months of blueprint design, 26 months of prototype sample research and development and 20 months of flight model phase research and development.

On August 28 2013, the China National Space Administration announced that the leading group for the lunar probe project had examined and approved the Chang'e 3 mission's launch. It also announced that the Chang'e 3 is scheduled to be launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at a selected date at the end of 2013.

On Sept. 11, 2013, all the parts of the Chang'e 3 lunar probe were loaded on freight trailers and transported to Beijing Capital International Airport where they were loaded onto a specially designed cargo aircraft to be transported to the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.