Change'E now in target orbit around Moon

The third braking of Chang'E-2 has been successful today (9 Oct) for the Chinese lunar spacecraft; thereby placing the lunar orbiter on the target orbit of 100KM * 100KM around the Moon. The period of the target orbit is about 117 minutes.

In the target orbit, Chang'E-2 will work and explore the lunar surface for about six-to-nine months. The topography and material composition of the lunar surface will be measured in the future. The space environment around the moon and the microwave thermal emission of the moon will be measured by Chang'E-2, according to Yong-Chun Zheng at the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Long-March-3C carrier rocket took Chang'e-2 into space blasting off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Oct. 1. More from The Beijing Review (vid CCTV).