Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. GPS News .




DRAGON SPACE
Chang'e-3 probe moves closer to the moon
by Staff Writers
Beijing (XNA) Dec 13, 2013


File image.

China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 entered an orbit closer to the moon on Tuesday night.

Following an order from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, the probe descended from the 100 km-high lunar circular orbit to an elliptical orbit with its nearest point about 15 km away from the moon's surface, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense said in a statement.

The administration said the transition was conducted above the dark side of the moon at 9:20 p.m.

At 9:24 p.m., it was confirmed that Chang'e-3 had entered the new orbit.

In the new orbit, the probe will prepare for a soft-landing on the moon's surface, according to the statement.

Chang'e-3, which is carrying moon rover "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit), was successfully launched on Dec. 2 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

It is expected to land on the moon in mid-December, and will be China's first spacecraft to soft-land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

.


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






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








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


DRAGON SPACE
New System for Assessing How Effective Species Are at Pollinating Crops

EU court annuls Commission approval of BASF's GM potato

Peaceful bumblebee becomes invasive

Scientists map food security and self-provision of major cities

DRAGON SPACE
A step closer to composite-based electronics

50 Meters of Optical Fiber Shrunk to the Size of Microchips

Chips meet Tubes: World's First Terahertz Vacuum Amplifier

NIST demonstrates how losing information can benefit quantum computing

DRAGON SPACE
Australia PM backs lifting Qantas foreign ownership limit

End looms for US Air Force's 'Warthog' ground-attack jet

Iraq signs $1.1 bn deal to buy S. Korean fighters

India's Tejas fighter passes air-to-air missile firing test

DRAGON SPACE
European scientists say device could let police remotely halt vehicles

Peugeot confirms in talks with Chinese carmaker, GM pulls out

China auto sales hit record high in November

Britain pledges commitment to driverless car technology

DRAGON SPACE
Japan in currency deals with Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore

Ukraine corruption seen as key barrier to crisis resolution

Myanmar businesses call for better deal from China

Multinationals boost Ireland but jobs go unfilled

DRAGON SPACE
Young tropical forests contribute little to biodiversity conservation

More logging, deforestation may better serve climate in some areas

Humans threaten wetlands' ability to keep pace with sea-level rise

Development near Oregon, Washington public forests

DRAGON SPACE
Juno Gives Starship-Like View Of Earth Flyby

China-Brazil satellite fails to enter orbit

Mysteries of Earth's radiation belts uncovered by NASA twin spacecraft

Mapping the world's largest coral reef

DRAGON SPACE
Scientists scale terahertz peaks in nanotubes

Berkeley Lab Researchers Discover Nanoscale Shape-Memory Oxide

Laser light at useful wavelengths from semiconductor nanowires

Stanford engineers show how to optimize carbon nanotube arrays for use in hot spots




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement