Chang’e-3 lander continues work after finishing scheduled tasks

This drafting shows the mission timeline of the Chang'e-3 lunar probe. (Chinanews.com)

(ECNS) -- The Chang'e-3 lander has finished all scheduled tasks in 13 lunar days and 13 lunar nights since its soft landing one year ago and will continue to carry out additional tasks, the People's Daily reported on Monday.

During its year on the moon's surface, which included 13 dormancies on lunar nights and awakenings on lunar days, the Chang'e-3 lunar probe endured the extreme cold environment and carried out more than 30 radio surveys, says Cui Yan, chief designer of the Chang'e-3 lunar program at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC).

The Chang'e-3 successfully carried out a torch relay in space for the second Summer Youth Olympic Games on June 19, 2014, a new attempt to apply space technology to community service.

"The Chang'e-3 lander has accomplished all its scheduled tasks in its expected lifetime. But given its good condition, we plan to conduct further experiments to accumulate more technical experience for China's deep space exploration," says Cui.

The Chang'e-3 lunar probe was launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 1:30 am on Dec 2, 2013, and soft landed on the moon's surface at 12:14 pm on Dec 14 that year. China is the third country to soft land a spacecraft on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.