China's
first moon probe Chang'e 1 intentionally crashed into the lunar surface on
Sunday after more than year of science observations, according to
state media reports.
The Chang'e
1 orbiter fired its engines to leave lunar orbit Sunday afternoon and
ultimately slammed into the moon's southern region at 4:13 p.m. Beijing Time
(0813 GMT), China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
Launched
in October 2007, the 5,180-pound (2,350-kg) satellite Chang'e 1 spacecraft
orbited the moon for 16 months. During its flight, the spacecraft used eight
onboard instruments to map the lunar surface, study its composition and
depth, as well as analyze the space environment around the moon.
Chinese
space officials said they planned to launch
a follow-up mission — Chang'e 2 — by 2011. Chang'e 1's intentional crash
was slated to be a dry run for a potential moon landing, they said Sunday.
Chang'e 1 was
a named after a Chinese goddess who, in a popular fairy tale, lives on the moon.
The mission cost a reported 1.4 billion yuan (about $180 million), according to
past Chinese media reports.
Officials
with the China National Space Agency have said Chang'e 1 was the first wave in
a three-phase plan to explore
the moon with orbiters, landers and rovers.
"The
second phase of the space program aims at soft landing, and the preparation is
currently in progress", said Wu Weiren, chief designer of the country's
lunar probe program, according to Xinhua.
That soft
landing is slated to be performed by yet another probe, Chang'e 3, by no later
than 2013, Chang'e 1 chief designer Ye Peijian told Xinhua. A fourth
Chang'e probe would also fly during the second phase of lunar exploration, he
added.
China's
third phase of lunar exploration includes landing "recoverable moon rovers" on
the lunar surface between 2017 and 2020, Ye told Xinhua. Those probes, however,
may not carry the Chang'e moniker.
"The
name hasn't been decided yet," Ye told Xinhua.
advertisement
