Chang'e-2 travels 50 million km from Earth  

嫦娥二号距地突破5000万公里 继续飞向更远深空

中国国家国防科技工业局15日消息：北京时间7月14日1时许，已成为中国首个人造太阳系小行星的嫦娥二号卫星，与地球间距离突破5000万公里，卫星状态良好，正继续向更远的深空飞行。[查看全文]

Beijing (Ecns) – China's space probe the Chang'e-2 arrived about 50 million kilometers from Earth at around 1 a.m. Sunday, Beijing Time, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) on Monday.

The space probe is now "in good condition" and continues to travel further away, said the administration.

The Chang'e-2 will be able to travel as far as 300 million km from Earth, said Zhou Jianliang, from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

The probe was launched on October 1, 2010 and arrived in outer space about 10 million km from Earth on January 5, 2013. It is estimated that, by July 2014, the Chang'e 2 will reach a distance of 100 million kilometers from Earth.

According to the SASTIND, the Chang'e-3 is scheduled for launch in late 2013 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. It will be China's first lunar rover and the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon.