China's Lunar Mission Sends Images of Moon To Earth

Beijing, China (AHN) - China's first-ever lunar probe on Monday has begun sending images of the moon back to Earth, with the first batch comprising some 19 photos of the moon's surface.

At the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao described the breakthrough as a major step in "the Chinese race's 1,000-year-old dream" of exploring the moon.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency published the initial photos taken by a camera on board Chang'e I probe, which was launched last month from the Xichang satellite center in southern China.

China also plans to send a land rover on the moon by 2012 and hopes to send an astronaut moon walking by 2020.

The country became the third nation to send a person into space aboard its own rocket in 2003, besides the U.S. and Russia.