Chang'e-3 trims its orbit

BEIJING - Chang'e-3, China's first planned soft moon landing, finished the first orbital trimming at 3:50 pm in its trajectory along the earth-moon transfer orbit, the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) said.

Chang'e-3 mission with moon rover "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit) was successfully launched early on Monday morning from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

It will travel for around 112 hours along the earth-moon transfer orbit, while scientists adjust its orbit depending on the circumstances.

The probe is estimated to reach the 100-km high circular lunar orbit sometime on Friday.

The BACC said as of 4:00 p.m. Beijing Time on Monday, Chang'e-3 has been flying for about 14 hours and is now about 138,000 km away from Earth.