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Enters moon orbit

BEIJING: China’s first lunar probe, Chang’e-1, successfully completed its first braking at perilune (the point on an elliptical lunar orbit that is nearest to the moon) and entered the moon’s orbit on Monday morning, becoming China’s first circumlunar satellite. Chang’e-1, following the instructions of the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre (BACC), started braking at 11:15 a.m. at a position around 300 km away from the moon and entered the moon’s orbit at around 11:37 a.m. after completing the braking, according to the BACC. “It turns the satellite into a real circumlunar one, marking a new milestone in China’s aerospace history and also the first move of the country’s deep space explorations,” said Sun Laiyan, deputy head of the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defence. “So far, each step in the lunar probe project has been completed almost perfectly,” Mr. Sun said. — Xinhua.

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