Chang'E-1 Lunar Mission: An Overview and Primary Science Results

Chang'E-1 is the first lunar mission in China, which was successfully launched on Oct.24th, 2007.It was guided to crash on the Moon on March 1,2009,at 52.36degreesE,1.50degreesS,in the north of Mare Fecunditatis. The total mission lasted 495 days, exceeding the designed life-span about four months. 1.37 Terabytes raw data was received from Chang'E-1.It was then processed into 4 Terabytes science data at different levels. A series of science results have been achieved by analyzing and applicating these data, especially"global image of the Moon of China's first lunar exploration mission". Four scientific goals of Chang'E-1 have been achieved. It provides abundant materials for the research of lunar sciences and cosmochemistry. Meanwhile these results will serve for China's future lunar missions