Mar 1 2009
From The Space Library
The People’s Republic of China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense announced that Chang’e-1, China’s first lunar probe, had impacted the Moon at 4:13 p.m., Beijing time, successfully ending its 16-month mission. China had launched Chang’e-1 on 24 October 2007, on a mission to produce the first full map of the Moon’s surface. Chang’e-1 had accomplished the mission using STEREO radar. The planned lunar impact, the culmination of the first phase of China’s three-stage Moon mission, would enable China to acquire experience that would help it land the second Chinese lunar probe, scheduled to launch in 2012.
Xinhua News Agency,, “China’s Lunar Probe Chang’e-1 Impacts Moon,” 2 March 2009; BBC News, “Chinese Probe Crashes into Moon,” 2 March 2009.
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