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| previous_mission = Chang'e 2 | next_mission = Chang'e 5-T1 | programme = Chinese Lunar Exploration Program }} Chang'e 3 (; ) is an unmanned lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.〔 The mission's chief commander was Ma Xingrui. The spacecraft was named after Chang'e, the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology, and is a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 lunar orbiters. The rover was named Yutu () following an online poll, after the mythological rabbit that lives on the Moon as a pet of the Moon goddess.〔 〕 Chang'e 3 achieved lunar orbit on 6 December 2013〔(China Moon rover enters lunar orbit: Xinhua )〕 and landed on 14 December 2013, becoming the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. ==History== In January 2004, China's lunar orbiter project was formally established. The first Chinese lunar orbiter, Chang'e 1, was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center on 24 October 2007 and entered lunar orbit on 5 November.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Missions to the Moon | The Planetary Society )〕 The spacecraft operated until 1 March 2009, when it was intentionally crashed into the surface of the Moon. Data gathered by Chang'e 1 were used to create an accurate and high-resolution 3D map of the entire lunar surface, assisting site selection for the Chang'e 3 lander.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=China publishes first map of whole lunar surface )〕 Chang'e 1's successor, Chang'e 2, was approved on October 2008〔 and was launched on 1 October 2010 to conduct research from a 100-km-high lunar orbit, in preparation for Chang'e 3's 2013 soft landing. Chang'e 2, though similar in design to Chang'e 1, was equipped with improved instruments and provided higher-resolution imagery of the lunar surface to assist in the planning of the Chang'e 3 mission. In 2012, Chang'e 2 was dispatched on an extended mission to the asteroid 4179 Toutatis. In March 2012, China began manufacturing the body and payload of the Chang'e 3 lander, planning to perform lunar surface and space studies independently of the mission's mobile rover.〔 Like its orbiting predecessors, the Chang'e 3 mission is seen as a precursor to further robotic lunar exploration missions, including Chang'e 5, a sample return mission planned for 2017.〔 Following these automated missions, a manned landing may be conducted around 2025. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chang'e 3」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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