China sends first landing craft to the moon

After the US and Russia, China has become the third nation to send a landing craft to the moon, Reuters reported, citing state media. The Chang’e-3 lunar probe, which includes the Yutu or Jade Rabbit buggy, blasted off on board an enhanced Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China’s southwestern Sichuan province at 1:30 am local time on Monday. If all goes smoothly, the rover will conduct geological surveys and search for natural resources after the probe touches down on the moon in mid-December as China’s first spacecraft to make a soft landing beyond Earth.