China's first lunar probe Chang'e-1 on a Long March 3A carrier rocket successfully launched at 18:05 on October 24 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The Chang'e I lunar probe Monday successfully completed its third orbital transfer at 18:01 on October 29.  The probe successfully transferred from 24-hour orbit to a 48-hour orbit during the second orbit transfer after entering orbit.  Now at a distance of more than 120,000 km from Earth, Chang'e I has set a new record in China's aerospace history as the most distant satellite ever controlled by Chinese scientists. The previous record stood at 80,000 km.