Hard on the heels of Japan's first lunar robotic mission, China has successfully launched its own. Called Change 1 after a goddess in Chinese folklore who lives on the Moon, the probe will study the chemical composition of the luner surface, as well as probing the lunar interior. Perhaps the most interesting study planned, however, is a three-dimensional photographic map of bhe lunar surface.
The scientific part of the mission is scheduled to last a year, so if all goes well on both missions, the Chinese and Japanese probes will both be beaming back lunar data for several months. That should be a treasure trove for planetary scientists.
India is still on track to launch its first lunar probe next year, as well. The Asian Space Race has well and truly begun.
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