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六级科技阅读：中国“嫦娥一号”升空
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China's 1st lunar probe Chang'e-1 blasts off
XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's first lunar probe Chang'e-1 has begun to use solar energy for power supply as the solar panel of the orbiter was unfolded as planned, according to the control center.
The circumlunar satellite Chang'e-1 blasted off on a Long March3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. from the No. 3 launching tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center of southwestern Sichuan Province.
Chang'e-1 weighs about 2,300 kg in total and the fuel carried by the orbiter accounts for nearly half of its total weight.
The lunar probe, the most sophisticated satellite Chinese experts have yet handled, is expected to enter earth-moon transfer orbit on Oct. 31 and arrive in the moon's orbit on Nov. 5.
The satellite will relay the first picture of the moon in late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the moon for a year.
China's first lunar probe Chang'e-1 blasts off
Special report: China launches first lunar orbiter
XICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China launched its first lunar probe on Wednesday, the first step into its ambitious three-stage moon mission, marking a new milestone in the country's space exploration history.
The circumlunar satellite Chang'e-1 blasted off on a Long March3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. from the No. 3 launching tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center of southwestern Sichuan Province.
Space experts from Japan, Germany and other countries joined their Chinese colleagues at the launch site to watch the launching process.
"The launch was very successful, and everything is proceeding just as it's planned," said Wu Ji, director of the Space Science and Applied Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Chang'e-1 separated from carrier rocket at 6:29 p.m. and entered into a 16-hour orbit at 205 kilometers perigee and 50,930 kilometers apogee, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC).
Chang'e-1, named after a legendary Chinese goddess of moon, is expected to enter earth-moon transfer orbit on October 31 and arrive in the moon's orbit on November 5.
Flying to the moon is the nation's long cherished dream, as Chang'e has been worshipped as the "moon lady" for thousands of years. Legend has it that she floated toward the sky and finally landed on the moon after taking a bottle of elixir, where she became a goddess accompanied by a jade rabbit.
Chang'e-1 is so far the most sophisticated satellite China has ever built. They will maneuver it at least 10 times before it arrives in the moon's orbit. China's Shenzhou VI manned spacecraft was maneuvered three times by scientists in the flight control center.
As the satellite has to be maneuvered 10 times, the fuel that Chang'e-1 carries accounts for nearly half of the satellite's total weight, scientists said.
The satellite will relay the first picture of the moon in late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the moon for a year.
It will carry out a series of projects including acquiring 3-D images and analyzing the distribution of elements on the moon's surface.
Luan Enjie, chief commander of China's lunar orbiter project, said that the moon mission in modern time will boost the development of human kind's deep space explorations.
"China will, in the principle of pursuing a policy of peaceful use of airspace, share the achievements of the lunar exploration with the whole world," Luan said.
"China will not be involved in moon race with any other country and in any form," he told Xinhua before the launch.
ICHANG, Sichuan, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's first moon orbiter which is likely to be launched at around 6:00 p.m. Wednesday from a southwest launch center, has been named after "moon lady" Chang'e, a mythical Chinese goddess who flew to the moon.
Chang'e and her husband Hou Yi, an outstanding archer, are the subjects of one of the most popular of Chinese mythological legends.
According to one version of the story, Chang'e was the beautiful wife of Hou Yi, a hero who shot down nine suns scorching the earth. At that time, there were ten suns that took turns to circle the earth one every 10 days, but one day all ten suns emerged together, causing immense damage on earth.
The shooting-down of nine suns by Yi, a famous archer, was highly praised by people on earth. Yi then had more disciples longing to learn archery including the evil Peng Meng.
Yi one day received an immortality elixir and asked his wife to keep it. Chang'e hid the elixir in a box, which was seen by Peng who forced Chang'e to hand over the pill when Yi went out for hunting.
Threatened by Peng and rather than hand the elixir over, Chang'e chose to swallow the elixir and found herself starting to float toward the sky. She kept on floating until she landed on the moon where she became a goddess, accompanied by a jade rabbit.
Yi's loss of his wife made him immensely sad, but he noticed that the moon was especially bright and clear, and began to worship his beloved wife on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month each year when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.
The legend has been depicted and adapted in many old Chinese stories, demonstrating a long-standing fascination with the moon in Chinese imagination.
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