Beijing Aerospace Control Center

China completed its first return mission to the moon early Saturday with the successful re-entry and landing of an unmanned probe, state media reported, in the latest step forward for Beijing's ambitious space programme.

China's second lunar probe, Chang'e-2, which travelled 100 million km into deep space in July, the longest journey a Chinese spacecraft made so far, is in good shape, a senior engineer said today.

China's moon rover "Yutu", or Jade Rabbit, completed its first scientific exploration of lunar soil on Tuesday, the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) said.

China's first lunar rover 'Yutu' and the Chang'e-3 lander have woken up after a period of dormancy that lasted two weeks, in a move designed to ride out harsh climactic conditions on the Moon.

China completed its first return mission to the moon early Saturday with the successful re-entry and landing of an unmanned probe, state media reported, in the latest step forward for Beijing's ambitious space programme.

China's second lunar probe, Chang'e-2, which travelled 100 million km into deep space in July, the longest journey a Chinese spacecraft made so far, is in good shape, a senior engineer said today.

China's moon rover "Yutu", or Jade Rabbit, completed its first scientific exploration of lunar soil on Tuesday, the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) said.

China's first lunar rover 'Yutu' and the Chang'e-3 lander have woken up after a period of dormancy that lasted two weeks, in a move designed to ride out harsh climactic conditions on the Moon.