[FPSPACE] First lunar image from Chang'e released

[Peter Pesavento]

>From China Daily  (also additional photos on the webpage link posted below)

 

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-11/26/content_6279311.htm

 

First moon picture from lunar probe unveiled
(Xinhua)
2007-11-26 13:08


 

 

 

China published the first picture of the moon captured by Chang'e I on
Monday morning, marking the success of the country's first lunar probe
project. 

The framed black-and-white photo was unveiled by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The image showed a rough moon
surface with scattered round craters both big and small.

The area covered by the picture, about 460 kilometers in length and 280 km
in width, is located within a 54 to 70 degrees south latitude and 57 to 83
degrees east longitude, according to BACC sources.

The area pictured is part of the moon's highland and is mainly composed of
plagioclase, a common rock-forming element. On the surface are craters of
different sizes, shapes, structures and ages, the sources said.

"The dark patch in the picture's upper right side shows the surface
blanketed by basalt, a hard and dense volcanic rock," the sources said.

The picture was pieced together by 19 images, each covering a width of 60
kilometers on the moon's surface. The far right of the picture was the first
area to be captured by the CCD camera aboard Chang'e I.

All the image data was collected on November 20 and November 21 and
processed into a three-dimensional picture in several days after being
transmitted back to Earth.

"Chinese people's dream of flying to the moon for more than 1,000 years has
started to materialize," said Wen in a passionate speech. He hailed China as
one of the few world powers capable of conducting a deep-space probe.

The premier said that the lunar probe was the third milestone in China's
space exploration, following the success of man-made satellites and manned
space flights.

The success, he said, not only manifested China's rising national strength
and technical innovation capability, but also elevated the country's
international status and cemented national cohesion.

"It showcases eloquently that the Chinese people have the will, the ambition
and the capability to compose more shining new chapters while ascending the
science and technology summit," he said.