.
China is planning to launch its first moon orbiter at around 6 p.m.on Oct. 24 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province.
China publishes first moon picture
China published the first picture of the moon captured by Chang'e-1 on Monday morning, marking the success of the country's first lunar probe project.
The framed black-and-white photo was unveiled by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The image showed a rough moon surface with scattered round craters both big and small.
The area covered by the picture, about 460 kilometers in length and 280 km in width, is located within a 54 to 70 degrees south latitude and 57 to 83 degrees east longitude, according to BACC sources.
The area pictured is part of the moon's highland and is mainly composed of plagioclase, a common rock-forming element. On the surface are craters of different sizes, shapes, structures and ages, the sources said.
"The dark patch in the picture's upper right side shows the surface blanketed by basalt, a hard and dense volcanic rock," the sources said.
The picture was pieced together by 19 images, each covering a width of 60 kilometers on the moon's surface. The far right of the picture was the first area to be captured by the CCD camera aboard Chang'e-1.
All the image data was collected on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21 and processed into a three-dimensional picture in several days after being transmitted back to Earth.
"Chinese people's dream of flying to the moon for more than 1,000 years has started to materialize," said Wen in a passionate speech. He hailed China as one of the few world powers capable of conducting a deep-space probe.
The premier said that the lunar probe was the third milestone in China's space exploration, following the success of man-made satellites and manned space flights.
The success, he said, not only manifested China's rising national strength and technical innovation capability, but also elevated the country's international status and cemented national cohesion.
"It showcases eloquently that the Chinese people have the will, the ambition and the capability to compose more shining new chapters while ascending the science and technology summit," he said
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) unveils the moon image captured by China's lunar orbiter Chang'e-1 during an unveiling ceremony at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing,Nov. 26, 2007.
|
The dark side of the moon Dec 12, 2007 The charge-coupled device (CCD) camera on Chang'e I has started imaging probes on the dark side of the moon and captured photos of parts of this region, CNSA announced Tuesday. Chang'e-1 opens facilities for data transmission Nov 20, 2007 China's first lunar orbiter Chang'e-1, which is now circling the moon at a stable altitude of 200 km, has opened its facilities to transmit data back to earth, a spokesman for the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said Tuesday. China currently has no plan to send a man onto the moon, said Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration, on Monday.
China currently has no plan to send a man onto the moon, said Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration, on Monday. Lunar Orbiter Project Costs Only 1 Bln Yuan China's milestone lunar orbiter project only costs 1 to 1.4 billion yuan (about 133 to 187 million U.S. dollars), the same amount as the money used to construct 2 km of subway in Beijing, said Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of the lunar exploration program. China opposes weapons race in outer space Dec 5, 2007 China is firmly against the militarization of outer space, and will never engage in a space arms race, a senior official said Tuesday. |
|
|
