Lunar Exploration Program

As early as in 1994, Chinese space scientists began to study the possibility of lunar exploration. In 1996, they had completed the technical program of the lunar exploration satellite, solved key technological problems by 1998 and put together the three-stage plan of "Orbiting, Landing and Returning" in 2004.

The launch of the Chang'e I lunar satellite represented the first phase of the project for probing the surface environment, geomorphological structure, terrain, geological structure and physical field of the moon. The second phase is expected to be accomplished by 2013, when a landing probe will also be launched. The "Returning" part of the plan is scheduled to be accomplished in 2017. In the meantime, the relevant departments are researching deep space probe possibilities in the future, including a landing on the Mars and other minor planets.

At 18:05 on October 24, 2007, China's first lunar module Chang'e I was launched successfully from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, symbolizing a new breakthrough in the development and research of China’s satellite technology. Sending back the first full map of the moon's surface to China one month after its launch, the satellite ended its 16-month mission on March 1, 2009 when it hit the lunar surface at 1.50 degrees south latitude and 52.36 degrees east longitude.

Chang'e I satellite boasts 12 technological innovations. Chang'e-3, the spacecraft carrying China's rover to the moon, will be launched in early December.

Timeline of China's lunar program

China's lunar mission is divided into three stages: orbiting, landing, and return. Following is the timeline of China's lunar mission development.

1998 Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND) begins planning the lunar mission, tackling major scientific and technological problems;

2004 January - lunar orbiter project is formally established;

February - mission is named "Project Chang'e" after a mythical Chinese goddess who flew to the moon;

2007 Oct. 24 - Chang'e-1 is successfully launched;

Nov. 7 - Chang'e-1 enters lunar orbit;

Nov. 26 - a clip of the voice of the probe and a Chinese song "Ode to the Motherland" are sent back from orbit. China's first picture of the lunar surface is published by Xinhua News Agency;

2008 Jan. 31 - COSTIND publishes the first picture of the lunar polar region taken by Chang'e-1;

October - the State Council, China's Cabinet, approves the Chang'e-2 mission;

Nov. 12 - based on data collected by Chang'e-1, the first lunar hologram with a resolution of 7 meters is published;

2009 March 1 - Chang'e-1 impacts the moon under control;

2010 Oct. 1 - Chang'e-2 is sent into space aboard a Long March-3C carrier rocket from southwest China's Xichang satellite launch center;

Oct. 9 - Chang'e-2 enters 100-km circular lunar orbit;

Oct. 26 - Chang'e-2 enters lower, elliptical orbit; prepares to photograph Sinus Iridium;

Oct. 29 - Chang'e-2 photographs Sinus Iridium and returns to a higher orbit;

Nov. 8 - pictures of Sinus Iridium published by the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND);

2011 April 1 - Chang'e-2 completes all six engineering objectives and four scientific missions. Its design lifetime expires;

April to the end of May - Chang'e-2 surveys south and north poles of the moon, and takes high-resolution pictures of the chosen landing site for Chang'e-3;

Aug. 25 - For the first time in history, from lunar orbit a space craft enters the second Lagrange Point (L2) orbit, where gravity of the sun and Earth balance the orbital motion of the satellite;

2012 Feb. 6 - SASTIND publishes a lunar hologram with a resolution of 7 meters;

Dec. 13 - Chang'e-2 arrives in deep space 7 million km away from Earth, and surveys the Tout asteroid;

Present Chang'e-2 is 60 million km away from Earth and has become China's first man-made asteroid in the solar system. It continues flying into deeper space.