Chang'e 1 is our first mission to the Moon. It
was developed by China Academy of Space Technology. The
spacecraft launched on 24 October 2007 at 10:05 UT (18:05 Chinese
Standard Time, 6:05 a.m. EDT) on a CZ-3A (Long March 3A) booster
from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The satellite was deployed
into a 205 x 51000 km Earth orbit from the boosters upper stage at
10:29 UT. It will go into a trajectory towards the Moon on 31
October and go into lunar orbit on 5 November. Chang'e 1 will orbit
the Moon for a year in a 200 km altitude circular orbit to test the
technology for future missions and to study the lunar environment
and surface regolith. The primary engineering objectives of the
mission are to validate the technology necessary to fly lunar
missions. Th