All 30 melodies and songs carried on Chang'e-1, China's first
lunar probe, were beamed back to Earth on Thursday to express best
wishes for the Lantern Festival, the formal end to the Lunar New
Year holiday.
The music was delivered to the media for broadcasting, a source
with the lunar exploration project center under the Commission of
Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense said on
Thursday.
The 30 pieces were chosen on the basis of public voting, and
most were traditional Chinese melodies and popular modern
songs.
Chang'e-1 also carried some human voices that expressed
encouragement and gratitude, Zhang Rongqiao, deputy head of the
lunar exploration project center said.
Zhang added that the voices would be sent back to Earth on
Women's Day, Children's Day and other major memorable days and
holidays.
Chang'e-1, named after a mythical Chinese goddess who, according
to legend, flew to the moon, blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier
rocket on Oct. 24 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the
southwestern province of Sichuan.
The satellite traveled nearly 2 million kilometers during its
15-day flight to the moon and reached its final working orbit with
a fixed altitude of 200 km on Nov. 7.
The China National Space Administration released the first
picture of the moon captured by Chang'e-1 on Nov. 26, marking the
full success of the first stage of the country's lunar probe
program.
The 2,350-kilogram satellite, carrying eight surveying
facilities, aims to make a three-dimensional survey of the moon's
surface. It will also analyze the abundance and distribution of
elements on the lunar surface,investigate the characteristics of
the powdery soil layer on the surface, and explore the environment
between the Earth and the moon.
Chang'e-1 was designed to stay in orbit for one year, but
scientists estimated that precise maneuvers may have saved 200 kg
of fuel and prolonged its lifespan.
This is the first step in China's three-stage moon mission,
which will lead to a landing and launch of a rover vehicle around
2012. In the third phase, another rover will land and return to the
Earth with lunar soil and stone samples for scientific research
around 2017.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2008)