China`s lunar probe enters moon orbit

Chang-e I will orbit the moon for about a year, photographing and mapping the lunar surface, but its first pictures are not expected to be transmitted until late this month.

The probe, named after a legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, is the first stage of China's lunar programme which includes landing an unmanned rover on the surface by 2012 and a manned mission by around 2020.

China successfully launched astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit in 2003, making it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to put a man in space.