중국 '창어3호'로 세계 3번째 달 착륙 국가 등극

(신화통신)

중국의 달 탐사위성 창어(嫦娥) 3호가 14일 달 착륙에 성공했다.

창어 3호는 이날 오후 9시 12분(중국시간) 중국 최초의 로봇 형태 달 탐사차인

'옥토끼(玉兎•중국명 '위투')호'를 싣고 달 표면에 안착했다.

창어 3호가 지난 2일 쓰촨(四川)성 시창(西昌) 위성발사센터에서 발사된 지 12일 만이다.

착륙 장면은 중국중앙TV(CCTV)를 비롯한 언론 매체를 통해 생중계됐다.

이로써 중국은 미국과 러시아(옛 소련)에 이은 세 번째 달 착륙 국가가 됐다.

중국의 탐사체가 지구 밖 외계 천체에 직접 오른 것은 이번이 처음이다.

창어 3호가 착륙한 곳은 달 표면의 훙완(虹灣)구역이다. 이곳은 달이 운석과 충돌하면서 생긴 지역으로 동서 300㎞, 남북 100㎞나 된다.

태양 에너지로 작동하는 옥토끼호는 이곳에서 3개월 동안 탐사 임무를 수행한다.

달의 지형과 지질구조를 탐사하고 각종 사진과 관측 자료를 지구로 전송하는 임 무를 띠고 있다.

기본 임무를 마친 옥토끼호는 회수되지 않고 달에 영원히 남게 된다.

중국은 2020년 완성을 목표로 3단계로 나눠 달 탐사프로젝트를 진행하고 있다.

1단계는 달 궤도를 도는 것이며 2단계는 달에 착륙하고 3단계는 달에서 얻은 각종 자료를 갖고 지구로 돌아오는 것이다. 창어 3호의 달 착륙은 2단계에 해당한다.

China deploys 'Jade Rabbit' rover on moon: Xinhua

China has deployed its lunar rover vehicle on the surface of the moon, state media said early Sunday, after carrying out the first soft landing on Earth's satellite since 1976 in a major step for the country's space program.

The Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, rover was deployed on the moon's surface at 4:35 am (2035 GMT), several hours after the Chang'e-3 probe landed, according to official news agency Xinhua.

The deployment makes China the third country to complete a lunar rover mission, after the United States and the former Soviet Union.

Citing the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, Xinhua said the rover "has touched the lunar surface." The agency tweeted an image, apparently taken from the probe, showing the rover leaving tracks in the dust behind it as it rolled away.

Earlier, scientists burst into applause as a computer-generated image representing the Chang'e-3 probe was seen landing on the moon's surface via screens at a Beijing control centre, state broadcaster Chinese Central Television showed.

"Chang'e-3 has successfully carried out a soft landing on the moon. This makes China the world's third nation to achieve a lunar soft landing," the Chinese Academy of Sciences said in an online post on the mission's official page on Sina Weibo, a Chinese Twitter equivalent.

The landing came 12 days after blast-off and was the first of its kind since the former Soviet Union's mission nearly four decades ago.

Many Chinese took to the country's Internet message boards expressing joy at the news, which Xinhua described as a "historic breakthrough" in an emotional editorial.

"Space exploration is the cause of mankind, not just 'the patent' of a certain country," the commentary said.

"China will share the achievements of its lunar exploration with the whole world and use them to benefit humanity."

The editorial also cited President Xi Jinping's slogan for Chinese advancement, saying that the lunar bid "once again lights up the China Dream."

The landing marks the latest step in an ambitious space program seen as a symbol of China's rising global stature and technological advancement, as well as the Communist Party's success in reversing the fortunes of the once-impoverished nation.

It comes a decade after the country first sent an astronaut into space, and ahead of plans to establish a permanent space station by 2020 and eventually send a human to the moon.

News of the landing quickly made an impact on China's hugely popular Internet message boards, with the words "Chang'e-3 lunar landing" racing to the top of the list of searched items on Weibo just minutes after touchdown.

"Congratulations on Chang'e-3's successful lunar landing. Long live China!" said one netizen.

Another said: "Felt so excited when it landed!" (AFP)