CCTV9英语新闻12月：嫦娥3移动到接近月球轨道（在线收听）

China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 has moved a step closer to the moon. The probe descended from a 100 kilometer-high lunar orbit to an elliptical orbit with its nearest point, just 15 kilometers from the moon's surface.

China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 entered an orbit closer to the moon on Dec. 10, 2013. (Xinhua)

The State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense says the transition was made while the probe transited the dark side of the moon at 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Beijing time. The transition took around four minutes. Chang’e-3 will now prepare for a soft-landing on the moon’s surface. T

he probe, which is carrying the moon rover "Yutu", was successfully launched on December the 2nd, from China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The moon landing is set to take place around mid-December, the first time a Chinese spacecraft has made a soft landing on a non-earth surface.

China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 is expected to land on Sinus Iridum of the moon in mid-December. (Xinhua)