Chang'e-2 travels 50 million km from Earth  

嫦娥二號距地突破5000萬公里 繼續飛向更遠深空

中國國家國防科技工業局15日消息：北京時間7月14日1時許，已成為中國首個人造太陽系小行星的嫦娥二號衛星，與地球間距離突破5000萬公里，衛星狀態良好，正繼續向更遠的深空飛行。[查看全文]

Beijing (Ecns) – China's space probe the Chang'e-2 arrived about 50 million kilometers from Earth at around 1 a.m. Sunday, Beijing Time, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) on Monday.

The space probe is now "in good condition" and continues to travel further away, said the administration.

The Chang'e-2 will be able to travel as far as 300 million km from Earth, said Zhou Jianliang, from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

The probe was launched on October 1, 2010 and arrived in outer space about 10 million km from Earth on January 5, 2013. It is estimated that, by July 2014, the Chang'e 2 will reach a distance of 100 million kilometers from Earth.

According to the SASTIND, the Chang'e-3 is scheduled for launch in late 2013 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. It will be China's first lunar rover and the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon.