China launches its first unmanned probe destined to the ground ... - The País.com (Spain)

China has launched its first scanning probe designed to land on the soil of the moon, the moon landing will be in two weeks, according to the plan. The launch of the Chang E3 , an unmanned probe, carrying a lander with a rolling vehicle called Yutu , has occurred at 18.30 CET (1.30 am on December 2nd in China), with a Long March 3B rocket (the most powerful of the Chinese fleet) has been released from Satellite Launch Center of Xinchang, in the center of the country.

Yutu , whose name comes from a Chinese myth about a white rabbit that lives on the moon with the moon goddess Chang’e, is designed to land on the moon and run three months, the agency Xinhua. It is a very efficient 140 kilos robot with six wheels that can withstand large temperature changes of the moon. Despite the limited information that advance the Chinese authorities, it appears that the location for landing is Sinus Iridium, a plain of basaltic lava in a crater 235 kilometers in diameter, according to Space.com. 37 years since the Soviet Moon mission 24, a smooth, controlled descent to the lunar surface is performed.

This launch marks an important milestone in China’s space exploration program, which aims to make preparatory explorations, create a permanent space station in 2020 and eventually send a person to the moon the next decade.

deputy program of lunar exploration, Li Benzheng, described mission E3 Change as a task with great risks for the Chinese space program. Beijing sees its space program, military management, as a show both their technological power and global position, as the success of the Communist Party to pull the country out of poverty.

This is the third lunar mission of China, and his first attempt to smooth landing on the moon. The first mission Chang’e, named after a Chinese goddess, was put into lunar orbit in 2007. The second was launched into orbit in 2010 and 2011, and then continued in deep space. The space program of China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003. Since then, he has conducted four manned and has launched a space laboratory.