China to launch rocket to Moon

China will launch its first moon rocket this week, a key step towards future space exploration.

The Chang'e 1 orbiter will launch between Wednesday and Friday, with the prime time being Wednesday at 6pm (11am Irish time).

"The orbiting of the moon is a high-tech project of self-innovation," said a spokesman for the China National Space Administration.

"It will set the technological foundation for the development of China's space exploration."

The move comes weeks after rival Japan said that its probe was in high orbit over The Moon and all was going well as it began a year long project to map and study the lunar surface.

The pair are likely to be joined soon by India, which plans to send its own lunar probe into space in April.

The Chang'e 1 will be launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province in south-west China.

"Inspections of the satellite and the rocket have been completed. The test results are normal and they fully fulfil the technical requirements," said the spokesman.

The project, named after a legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, aims to analyse chemical and mineral composition and to explore the characteristics of the lunar surface.

The satellite will use stereo cameras and X-ray spectrometers to map three-dimensional images of the surface and study the moon's dust.

It will transmit its first photo back to China in the second half of November. "

China sent shock waves through the region in 2003, when it became the first Asian country to put its own astronauts into space. This year, China also destroyed an old satellite with a land-based anti-satellite missile, the first such test ever conducted by any nation, including the US and Russia.