Chinese launch rover for lunar studies

China has launched its first lunar rover mission, the next key step in the Asian superpower's ambitious space program. The Chang'e-3 mission blasted off from Xichang in the south at 01:30 Monday local time. The Long March rockets payload includes a landing module and a six-wheeled robotic rover called Yutu (or Jade Rabbit). The mission should land in the Moon's northern hemisphere in mid-December.

Chinese state TV carried live pictures of the launch of the Chinese-developed Long March 3B rocket carrying the lunar probe. This will be the third robotic rover mission to land on the lunar surface, but the Chinese vehicle carries a more sophisticated payload, including ground-penetrating radar which will gather measurements of the lunar soil and crust.

The 120kg (260lb) Jade Rabbit rover can climb slopes of up to 30 degrees and travel at 200m (660ft) per hour, according to its designer the Shanghai Aerospace Systems Engineering Research Institute.

Its name - chosen in an online poll of 3.4 million voters - derives from an ancient Chinese myth about a rabbit living on the moon as the pet of the lunar goddess Chang'e.

If successful, the mission, aimed at exploring the Moon's surface and looking for natural resources such as rare metals, will be a milestone in China's long-term space exploration program, which includes establishing a permanent space station in Earth orbit.

The launch comes at a time when the Asian superpower is asserting itself in other areas, such as control of airspace over the East China Sea. China considers its space program a symbol of its rising global stature and technological advancement, as well as of the Communist Party's success in reversing the fortunes of the once impoverished nation.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com