China has started the first phase of its lunar probe program with funding of 1.4 billion yuan (about US$170 million), as preparations got underway for a satellite to orbit the moon by 2007, a senior program official said in Beijing Friday.  

Sun Laiyan, deputy director of the China National Space Administration, said the satellite program, part of the country's ambitious three-stage lunar project, would be followed by the landing of an unmanned vehicle on the Moon in the second stage by 2010 and collecting samples of lunar soil with an unmanned vehicle by 2020.

The last two stages are still under review by scientists before official approval, Sun told the press.

The satellite would obtain three-dimensional images of the lunar surface, analyze the content of useful elements and materials, and probe the depth of the lunar soil and the space environment between the Earth and the Moon, said Sun.

On Dec. 31, 2003, he said China would use its mature space technology and facilities in the first phase, using a Long March III A carrier rocket to launch the satellite.

He described the satellite project as an important step toward China's exploration of deeper space, and the Moon would provide a good platform from which to explore.

The lunar program is also known as the Chang'e Program, referring to a goddess who reached the Moon in an ancient Chinese fairy tale.

(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2004)