The project had resulted in data about the distribution and content of important elements on the moon, such as uranium, thorium, potassium, aluminum, silicon, iron and titanium, said the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense Friday.

China launched its first lunar probe Chang'e-1, named after China's mythical Moon Goddess, on Oct. 24, 2007 in southwestern Sichuan Province. The probe ended its 16-month mission on March 1, 2009, when it hit the lunar surface.

The administration said in a statement that China was making "periodic" progress in processing, analyzing and studying the data from the probe, and the "world class" map of the moon's entire surface.

The map, produced by a stereo camera using a charge-coupled device (CCD) on the probe to form images, was highly accurate, said Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China Lunar Exploration Project.

Chang'e-1 had produced digital elevation models and a three-dimensional topographical map with the highest possible accuracy and resolution, he said.

The probe had also provided researchers with data on the microwave radiation temperatures of the lunar regolith, the powdery soil layer on the moon's surface, which was significant to identify the thickness of the regolith and the rare gases within it, said Ouyang.

"Unique" data about the high-energy particles in near-lunar space and solar-wind particles had also been obtained, which would enrich knowledge about solar radiation, the magnetic field between the sun and the earth, and the moon, Ouyang said.

The scientists, from some of China's leading research institutions and universities, would consider about 2.76 terabytes (TB) of data generated from the 1.37 TB of information sent back from Chang'e-1, said Ouyang.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
- Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more

Sea Launch Signs Launch Agreement With AsiaSat PSLV Launch Successful With 5 Satellites Placed In Orbit ISRO To Launch More Satellites This Year ILS Successfully Launches The Echostar XV Wind Cleans Solar Panels Team Shows Unity During First Month Of Mars Flight Simulation Mars Rover Curiosity Spins Its Wheels Microsoft And NASA Bring Mars Down To Earth Through The WorldWide Telescope Science Team To Study Data From China's First Lunar Probe Apollo 16: Footsteps Under High Sun NASA releases videogame, Moonbase Alpha Man In The Moon Has 'Graphite Whiskers' Course Correction Keeps New Horizons On Path To Pluto Scientists See Billions Of Miles Away System Tests, Science Observations And A Course Correction Coordinated Stargazing NASA Finds Super-Hot Planet With Unique Comet-Like Tail Recipes For Renegade Planets First Directly Imaged Planet Confirmed Around Sun-Like Star VLT Detects First Superstorm On Exoplanet AFRL Test Marks Return To In-House Rocket Fuel Development Russia To Start Testing New Angara Rocket In 2013 Musk goes public on divorce NASA Preparing For DM-2 Test: Now That's Powerful Information China Contributes To Space-Based Information Access A Lot China Sends Research Satellite Into Space China eyes Argentina for space antenna Seven More For Shenzhou Fascinating Images From A New World Rosetta Triumphs At Asteroid Lutetia Rosetta Spacecraft Returns Unique Glimpses Of Asteroid Lutetia Rockbreaking In Space