China to launch lunar probe Monday

XICHANG - China will launch the Chang'e-3 lunar probe to the moon at 1:30 am Monday from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the mission's launching headquarters said in Xichang Saturday.

It will be the first time for China to send a spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body, where it will conduct surveys on the moon.

Facilities at the launching site are in good condition and preparations are going well, according to the headquarters.

The probe will be launched to orbit aboard an enhanced Long March-3B carrier which is more than three meters in diameter and 56.4 meters high.

The mission will be the 25th launch of the Long March-3B, which is the most powerful launch vehicle in the Long March fleet.

Engineers have adopted technologies of high-precision guidance and control, multiple narrow window launches, transmission system for remote sensing, and reduction of the rocket's deadweight, said Cen Zheng, rocket system commander-in-chief of the mission.

Chang'e-3 comprises a lander and a moon rover called "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit). The lunar probe will land on the moon in mid-December if everything goes according to plan.

Tasks for Yutu include surveying the moon's geological structure and surface substances, while looking for natural resources.

So far, only the United States and the former Soviet Union have soft-landed on the moon.

After entering lunar orbit, Chang'e-3 will go through six stages of deceleration to descend from 15 km above to the lunar surface.

The soft-landing processes of the U.S. and former Soviet Union's unmanned spacecraft had no capacity to hover or avoid obstacles. Chang'e-3, on the other hand, can accurately survey landforms at the landing site and identify the safest spots on which to land.

In order to land quickly, the probe is equipped with high-precision, fast-response sensors to analyze its motion and surroundings. The variable thrust engine (completely designed and made by Chinese scientists) can generate up to 7,500 newtons of thrust.

Narrow windows for China's lunar probe launch

The launch of China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe, scheduled in early December, will have to target multiple narrow windows that last only minutes each, said a spokesman for the project Friday.

"The lunar probe currently has two launch windows each day for three consecutive days. The first window on the first day lasts four minutes, and the second window one minute," said Pei Zhaoyu, spokesman for the lunar probe mission, at a press briefing in Xichang, Sichuan province. [Full story]

Backgrounder: China's 'triple jump' progress in lunar probes

The upcoming Chang'e-3 mission will carry the first Chinese spacecraft to soft-land on and explore an extraterrestrial object.

The Chang'e-1 to Chang'e-3 missions have made a "triple jump" between 2007 and 2013. [Full story]