Chang’e are a series of Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecrafts and rovers, part of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. Here are just a few of the pictures taken during the mission.
The Chang’e 1 mission had four major goals:
- to obtain a 3D image of landforms and geological structures of the lunar surface, so as to provide a reference for planned future soft landings
- to analyze the distribution of chemical elements on the lunar surface
- to estimate the thickness of the lunar soil and estimate its Helium-3 content, for potential economic purposes
- to study the impact the solar wind has on the Earth and the Moon