By Xinhua
Beijing : China is likely to launch its first moon orbiter Wednesday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province.
“The satellite will be launched between Oct 24 and 26,” China National Space Administration (CNSA) said, adding that the launch time has been tentatively scheduled at 6 p.m. local time.
The circumlunar satellite, named Chang’e I after the Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, and the carrier Long March 3A have passed all pre-launch tests and have been transported to the launch site, CNSA said.
The lunar probe is expected to enter earth-moon transfer orbit on Oct 31 and reach the moon’s orbit Nov 5.
The satellite will relay the first picture of the moon sometime late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the moon for a year. The orbiter will carry out a series of projects including taking 3-D images and analyzing the moon’s surface, according to the spokesman.
The launch will mark the first step of China’s three-stage moon mission, which will lead to a moon landing and launch of a moon rover around 2012. In the third phase, another rover will land on the moon and return to the earth with lunar soil and stone samples for scientific research around 2017.