China's lunar probe Chang'e-3, with the country's first moon rover onboard, landed on the moon on Saturday night, slightly ahead of schedule. The successful landing is the first time that China has sent a spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.
China's first moon rover, Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, will separate from the lander early on Sunday, several hours after the Chang'e-3 probe soft-landed on the lunar surface.
Chang'e-3 landed on the moon's Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, at about 9:12 p.m. Saturday, making China the third country in the world to carry out such a rover mission after the United States and former Soviet Union.
China National Space Administration staff who worked on Chang'e-3 congratulate each other on the world's first successful lunar landing in 37 years (via Weibo):
The images show Chang'e-3 on the screen of the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre, and graphical representations of the probe landing on the moon:
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