CCTV9英语新闻12月：西昌卫星发射中心气象条件适合嫦娥三号如期发射（在线收听）

China will begin its mission to land on the moon on Monday. The Chang’e-3 lunar probe will be launched at 1:30 a.m. local time from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

"The rocket system has functioned perfectly in all four general inspections. Everything matches perfectly with the launch requirements. Also, the weather has been really good in Xichang. Tomorrow we will enter the injection stage which indicates the official start of the launch procedure." Sun Baowei, Party Secretary of Xichang Satellite Launch Center said.

If it’s successful, the mission will be the first time any country has landed on the moon for nearly 40 years. It will also be China’s first soft landing on any extra-terrestrial surface.

The mission will see an astronomical telescope installed on the moon, the first ever in the history of lunar exploration. And an extreme ultraviolet camera on the lander is designed to map environmental changes on the earth. Meanwhile, a high-tech lunar rover will carry a radar to study the moon’s crust to a depth 100 meters.

The Chang’e-3 mission is the second phase of China’s lunar program. It follows the success of the Chang’e-1 and Chang’e-2 missions in 2007 and 2010.