China launched its 1st lunar probe – heat up space race

China sent its Chang'e 1 lunar probe into space Wednesday, October 24, 2007 night from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in eastern Sichuan Province. The probe is expected to enter the moon's orbit on November 1.

There it will begin mapping the surface of the moon and conduct other explorations over a period of about a year.

China in 2003 became the third country in the world to send a man in to space. China successfully launched its first satellite, Dongfanghong 1 on April 24, 1970, becoming the fifth country in the world to launch a satellite.

The launch shows China is able to build and use the best technology, which has domestic, economic and military implications. Ultimately, it's about strategic advantage. They clearly see space as a new area of potential competition. This is moving in new directions, away from sea and air, and space launches are part of that.

Soon after Wednesday's launch, Xinhua quoted an unidentified spokesman of the military-run space program as saying China was not interested in a space race and that the probe's mission was "without any military aims and carrying no military facilities and equipment."

Embarking on an ambitious 10-year moon exploration program, the first lunar probe is a leap forward in the Asian space race that gave a boost to national pride, and the promise of scientific and military payoffs.

Just a week ago, Japan put a probe into orbit around the moon, and India is likely to join the rivalry soon, with plans to send its own lunar probe into space in April.

The Long March 3A rocket left a trail of smoke Wednesday as it soared into cloudy skies from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan.