Chang'e-I Ends Lunar Mission with a Bang

    Chang'e-1, China's first lunar probe, hit the moon on March 1, at 1.50 degrees south latitude and 52.36 degrees east longitude. The event was relayed to the earth in clear real time images via a satellite-borne camera.

    Chang'e-I, which spent 494 days in space, was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center atop a Long March 3-A carrier rocket on October 24, 2007. The satellite gathered 1.37 TB datum of scientific achievements, including a three-dimensional survey of the moon's surface, analysis of the abundance and distribution of elements on the lunar surface, an investigation of the characteristics of lunar regolith and the moon's powdery surface soil layer, and an exploration of the conditions between the earth and the moon.

An artist’s impression of Chang’e-I’s impact on the moon.